South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo on Friday denied all allegations in connection to the Druking scandal, and called for a politically unbiased investigation.

Speaking to reporters in the early hours of Friday, after a grilling session that lasted nearly 20 hours, Kim said that he fully cooperated with the investigation and that it was now down to the special counsel to reach an unbiased conclusion. 

South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo speaks to reporters after leaving the special counsel`s office in Seoul on Friday. Yonhap

This is the second time Kim was summoned by the special counsel as a suspect in the case, having been questioned on Monday.

Gov. Kim is suspected of colluding with Kim Dong-won, a blogger known by the penname Druking, in using illegal software to manipulate public opinion ahead of last year’s presidential election. It has also been alleged that Gov. Kim recruited the services of Kim Dong-won and his associates for the June 13 local elections.

In the interrogation that began Thursday, the special counsel brought in Druking for cross-examination.

“(I) have cooperated with the special counsel in every aspect of the interrogation, and explained (allegations),” Gov. Kim said.

“Now, it is the special counsel’s turn to reach a fair and rational conclusion based only on the facts, without any political considerations.”

According to reports, Gov. Kim denied all allegations and claimed that Kim Dong-won was an ordinary supporter, and that there were no irregularities in his dealings with the blogger.

Kim Dong-won, for his part, claims that Kim was fully aware of his activities, and that the South Gyeongsang governor was shown a demonstration of the software in question and approved of the opinion-rigging campaign.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)