Ahead of local elections, independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul city councilor Kim Kyung have been additionally charged with illegal "split donations" using other people's names after being arrested for exchanging large sums of money in return for nominations.
According to legal sources on September 16, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Public Investigation Division 2, led by Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-won, indicted Kang and Kim on September 14 for violating political funding laws. This means the two will face trial not only for the previous campaign donation case but also for the new charges related to illegal political fundraising.
Investigations revealed that Kim allegedly provided over 130 million won in donations to Kang multiple times after the June 1, 2022, local elections by borrowing the names of dozens of individuals. Current laws strictly prohibit using another person's name to make political donations, a practice known as "split donations."
Kang is believed to have returned 100 million won to Kim immediately after receiving it as a bribe for a nomination, only to receive the same funds back through the irregular "split donation" method. Prosecutors concluded that both individuals attempted to disguise the illegal nature of the money as legitimate donations.
Previously, both were arrested and indicted in March for allegedly exchanging a shopping bag containing 100 million won in a hotel in Yongsan, Seoul, in January 2022, in return for a single nomination for a city councilor candidate (violating political funding laws, among other charges).
At that time, Kang, who was affiliated with the Democratic Party, nominated Kim as the sole candidate for the party in his district of Gangseo, Seoul, and Kim won the election.
The Seoul Central District Court has assigned the newly added charges to the same criminal division currently handling the original campaign donation case. The court has decided to combine the two cases for joint hearings. However, the date for the first trial regarding the additional charges has not yet been set.
Meanwhile, the sentencing hearing for their campaign donation case took place today at the Seoul Central District Court, where prosecutors are expected to present their recommendations and the defendants will make their final statements.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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