Myung Tae-kyun granted bail in political poll scandal

Political broker Myung Tae-kyun has been released on bail by the Seoul High Court. Myung was previously detained following a first-instance prison sentence of 18 months for allegedly providing free opinion poll results to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife.

Myung is accused of providing 58 opinion polls, valued at approximately 270 million won, between June 2021 and March 2022. The first trial determined that 14 of these polls constituted illegal political fund donations.

During the bail hearing, Myung’s legal team argued there was no risk of destroying evidence and cited health concerns, specifically mentioning impaired vision. The Special Prosecutor’s team opposed the bail, citing a previous conviction regarding the concealment of a mobile phone as evidence of potential tampering. Despite these objections, the court granted the request, allowing Myung to await his appeal trial without detention. The next hearing is scheduled for September 11.