[Anchor]

New allegations have emerged that Representative Kim Byung-ki, who is currently under police investigation for 13 charges including the receipt of illegal political funds, also received money from former city council member Kim Kyung. However, controversy is growing as it has been revealed that the police were aware of related testimony two months ago but failed to even verify the facts.

Reporter Bae Seong-jae has the story.

[Reporter]

During the trial on the 26th for Representative Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul City Council member Kim Kyung, who were indicted on charges of exchanging 100 million won in nomination bribes ahead of the 2022 local elections, testimony was given that "former council member Kim also delivered a shopping bag suspected of containing cash to Representative Kim Byung-ki around the same time."

A former aide to Representative Kim appeared as a witness and stated that he heard this from the secretary who accompanied the representative. He further testified that "Representative Kim said, 'Kim Kyung asked me for a nomination for city council or district head, but I could not do it due to my spouse's opposition.'"

The police, who are investigating 13 allegations against Representative Kim, including the receipt of illegal political funds from council members in his district of Dongjak-gu, stated at a press conference today (the 29th), "That level of information is insufficient to launch an investigation," adding, "Since it was mentioned in court, we need time to grasp the situation."

However, it has been confirmed that the police had already secured testimony regarding the same matter two months ago.

During a witness interview in April, one of Representative Kim's former aides stated, "Ahead of the 2022 local elections, Representative Kim, former council member Kim, and a Democratic Party official had a meal together at a Chinese restaurant. I heard from the driver, who was the accompanying secretary at the time, that 'after returning from the meal, Representative Kim was carrying a shopping bag large enough to hold about 30 to 40 million won.'"

Despite this, the police have not conducted any investigation over the past two months, leading to growing criticism that they lack the will to investigate.

Regarding the newly raised allegations of bribery, Representative Kim's side dismissed them as groundless.

(Video Editing: Ahn Yeo-jin, Design: Kim Ye-ji)