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President Yoon Suk-yeol, first lady Kim Keon-hee, and Myung Tae-kyun. (Hankyoreh file photo)

Myung Tae-kyun, a key figure in an alleged scandal to rig polls in favor of Yoon Suk-yeol ahead of the People Power Party presidential primaries in 2021, is threatening to divulge more information, saying that he has “at least 2,000 screenshots” worth of messages with the first couple.
 
Myung claimed that the messages would send shockwaves “ten times, no, a hundred times” stronger than the confusion caused by the messages sent by first lady Kim Keon-hee he made public on Tuesday, implying unlawful conduct. 

While the presidential office denies the veracity of Myung’s statement by arguing that Yoon “had no reason to take Myung’s advice,” concerns are rising over Myung’s suspected involvement in the presidential primaries due to his apparent closeness with the first couple and Myung, demonstrated by the sheer amount of message they exchanged.
 
“No Cut News” and “Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,” both on CBS, released an interview with Myung on Wednesday, the day after the presidential office claimed that the “oppa,” a term used by women when referring to older male acquaintances or brothers, mentioned in Kim’s texts — “Please forgive my oppa for childishly running his mouth like that. I’m completely reliant on you right now” — was Kim’s biological older brother, not the president. The office also added that the conversation occurred before Yoon officially joined the PPP party.
 
During the interview, Myung boasted, “The texts made public are only the tip of the iceberg. I have at least 2,000 screenshots of messages. Even if I were to narrow them down to focus on the most important ones, I’d have around 200 to choose from.” 

In response to the presidential office’s claim that those messages were private conversations, Myung retorted, “Looks like I should unearth the ‘work’ messages I exchanged with the president.”
 
“In one instance, Yoon sent me a cherry thumbs up to praise me for doing a great job,” Myung added. The “cherry thumbs up” refers to an infamous Telegram emoticon Yoon sent to PPP lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong — a close aide of Yoon’s — for ousting out former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok from his leadership position in July 2022. 

Myung said, “Everyone will be scandalized when I reveal why the first lady said what she said. They’ll be speechless,” claiming that Kim acted as a “fixer” for everything.  He also warned that the messages yet to be revealed would send shockwaves “ten times, no, a hundred times” stronger than the tumult brought on the day before.
 
Myung’s threats seem to be targeted at the presidential office and the PPP for accusing him of being a fraud. The presidential office has already labeled Myung as “someone who engages in work [it] is unfamiliar with,” setting clear boundaries by announcing that Yoon had “no reason to take [Myung’s] advice.” The office also claimed that Yoon cut ties with Myung towards the end of the presidential primaries.
 
However, as Myung doubles down on his claims, concerns are growing over his apparently cozy relationship with the presidential couple during the presidential election and primaries, with mounting questions about role he played in Yoon’s campaign when he held no official title, and the possibility that Yoon and Kim may have engaged in acts that lay beyond their jurisdiction. Myung is also suspected of rigging an opinion poll to favor Yoon during the 2021 presidential primaries.
 
The situation has touched off a firestorm of criticism within the ruling party as the ruling camp watches for Myung’s next move only for the presidential office to shoot itself in the foot with each response to his allegations. Some in the PPP have gone so far as to say that a ruling party at the beck and call of a political broker does not deserve to be in power.

Shin Ji-ho, the PPP strategy and planning division director who belongs to leader Han Dong-hoon’s faction of the party, made an appearance on the Channel A YouTube channel, where he said, “Myung has the upper hand here.”
 
Kim Chong-hyuk, a member of the PPP Supreme Council, stated during an MBC radio broadcast, “If the first lady refers to Yoon as ‘oppa’ in any other circumstance or talks about him in a derogatory tone, everyone will lose faith in the president. I worry about what the presidential office is thinking by being so adamant that the ‘oppa’ Kim is referring to is her [biological] brother.”
 
The opposition continues to use the revelations to go on the offensive. Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, commented during a party Supreme Council meeting, “The more that those involved keep everything under wraps, distrust and suspicion of the current administration will only grow, leading to its destruction,” urging the president and the first lady to “lay the truth bare in front of the public.”
 
By Son Hyun-soo, staff reporter; Ki Min-do, staff reporter

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