Kim Tae-hyo, "Yoon was angry"... First acknowledgment of 'VIP Rage Theory'

[Financial News] Kim Tae-hyo, the former first deputy director of the National Security Office, who was a key diplomatic and security aide in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, reportedly testified in a manner acknowledging the 'VIP Rage Theory' during his appearance at the Special Prosecutor's Office for the fallen marine case.
Former Deputy Director Kim appeared at the Special Prosecutor's Office in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, at around 2:50 p.m. on the 11th as a suspect in the charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights, and after being questioned for about 7 hours, he returned home at around 10 p.m.
During the special prosecutor's investigation, he reportedly testified to the effect that "former President Yoon was very angry after receiving the investigation results of the Private Chae case" during the diplomatic and security chief secretary meeting presided over by the president on July 31, 2023, when the rage theory emerged.
He had previously claimed through National Assembly testimonies, etc., that there was no report related to the Private Chae case during the meeting at that time, and that there was no rage from former President Yoon, but he has completely reversed this stance.
According to the special prosecutor, former Deputy Director Kim did not exercise his right to refuse to testify on that day and answered the questions. The investigation prepared before 9 p.m. was completed, and no late-night investigation was conducted.
Special Prosecutor Jeong Min-young stated after the investigation of former Deputy Director Kim was completed, "We mainly asked about the situation of the chief secretary meeting and broadly inquired whether there was any involvement in the retrieval of the case, etc." A special prosecutor team official said, "We are not yet considering additional (summoning) investigations of former Deputy Director Kim."
Former Deputy Director Kim is evaluated as one of the figures who attended the chief secretary meeting and led the diplomatic and security policy in the Yoon Seok-yeol government.
The special prosecutor team sees former Deputy Director Kim as a key suspect who witnessed former President Yoon's rage after receiving the initial investigation results of the fallen Private Chae Soo-geun case from the Marine Corps investigation team during the meeting and was involved in external pressure on the investigation.
Former President Yoon reportedly expressed strong anger at the time, saying, "If you punish a division commander for something like this, who would want to be a division commander?" and subsequently withheld the police transfer and changed the Marine Corps investigation team's findings, which is the main thread of the VIP Rage Theory suspicion.
The special prosecutor, having obtained meaningful testimony from former Deputy Director Kim that could grasp the substance of the rage theory, is expected to further narrow the investigation net by additionally summoning several key figures, including Cho Tae-yong, the former director of the National Intelligence Service, who attended the meeting as the head of the National Security Office at the time.
kyu0705@fnnews.com Dong-kyu Kim Reporter