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| Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the People Power Party (PPP) speaks at the National Assembly, May 3. Yonhap |
Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday flatly denied allegations that he received an illegal political donation around last year's local elections amid several other looming controversies surrounding him.
According to a media report, the North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker allegedly accepted political funds from elected councilors of his constituency in Seoul's Gangnam district, in return for backing their nomination.
The donations were allegedly split up and given under the names of their families and acquaintances.
"I would like to clarify at this moment that I am confident that there is not a single stain regarding the issue of fundraising," Tae said in a press conference held at the National Assembly.
Tae also denied media reports that senior presidential political affairs secretary Lee Jin-bok asked him to make remarks in support of Korea-Japan relations while talking about the issue of party nominations for next year's general elections.
Local media have reported a transcript of the phone conversation between Tae and Lee.
"I had no conversation whatsoever with senior political affairs secretary Lee about the direction of remarks by a Supreme Council member, or party nominations," Tae said. Tae is a member of the PPP's Supreme Council.
The PPP's ethics committee, meanwhile, decided to hold a session Monday to review whether to punish Tae over a row about the leaked phone conversation, along with other controversies surrounding him.
Tae has come under criticism for remarks distorting history after he insisted that a civilian uprising on Jeju Island in the late 1940s was obviously triggered on the instruction of North Korea's late founder, Kim Il-sung.
Tae, North Korea's former deputy ambassador to Britain, defected to South Korea in 2016 and was elected as a lawmaker here in 2020. (Yonhap)
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