The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) disclosed an audio file of a conversation between President Yoon Suk Yeol and power broker Myung Tae-kyun, claiming it proves that Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee interfered in election nominations.

In the audio file released by the main opposition during a press conference Thursday, the president can be heard saying he has asked the ruling People Power Party(PPP) nomination committee to consider candidacy for former Rep. Kim Young-sun. 

Kim was elected to parliament during by-elections in June 2022.

The DP claimed the audio file is of a conversation between Yoon and Myung on May 9, 2022, the day before Yoon’s inauguration, and that it is a re-recording of a playback that Myung presented to an acquaintance on June 15 that year.

DP Rep. Seo Young-kyo said her party intends to look into whether what is said in the audio constitutes a violation of the Political Parties Act.

Myung, a self-styled  political consultant, is also suspected of meddling in the ruling party’s candidate nomination process ahead of the April general elections, with the first lady allegedly playing a role.

The presidential office, in response, said Yoon was not briefed by the nomination committee as the president-elect, nor did he give any orders. 

It added that then-PPP chief Lee Jun-seok and then-committee chair Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun had the authority over decisions.

Yoon Sang-hyun denied the DP’s latest claims, saying he had not consulted with the president on the matter and that the nominations were decided based on principles and standards.