Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor, 'Butler' Red Notice... 'Sambu Construction' Lee Gi-hoon Seems to Have Fled

[Financial News] The special prosecutor team for Kim Geon-hee (Min Jung-gi special prosecutor) has issued a wanted notice for Mr. Kim, known as the butler of Mrs. Kim Geon-hee.
Moon Hong-joo, the special prosecutor, announced on the 17th that a wanted notice for Mr. Kim, passport invalidation measures with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a red notice through Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) have been initiated. The passport invalidation is expected to take 2-3 weeks, and the Interpol red notice is expected to take even longer.
Special Prosecutor Moon warned, "Mr. Kim, who seems to have fled from Vietnam to a third country, should return immediately and cooperate with the investigation."
Additionally, Special Prosecutor Moon demanded the voluntary appearance of Mr. Kim's wife. It was reported that Mr. Kim's wife attempted to leave for Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam with their children on the 29th of last month but failed due to an exit ban and is currently hiding in a location in Gangnam. The children reportedly left for Vietnam without issue on the 1st. Special Prosecutor Moon stated, "To locate them, a communication warrant for real-time location tracking is needed, but it has not been issued yet." However, he added that they are not yet considering applying for an arrest warrant.
Special Prosecutor Moon said, "Previously, a search and seizure warrant for Mr. Kim was dismissed, but we are approaching it cautiously," and "We will diligently and sincerely clarify our connection to the court. Once we become familiar with each other, misunderstandings are expected to be resolved."
The special prosecutor team plans to continue investigating the case, suspecting that Mr. Kim obtained profits by selling 4.6 billion won out of the 18.4 billion won investment received from IMS Mobility (Be My Car) through a borrowed-name company. The special prosecutor team is continuing its investigation into former Korea Securities Finance Corporation President Yoon Chang-ho and former Daou Kiwoom Group Chairman Kim Ik-rae from the morning. The special prosecutor team reportedly questioned them about △the background and process of the IMS investment △whether Mrs. Kim was involved.
Meanwhile, Lee Gi-hoon, Vice Chairman of Sambu Construction and Chairman of Wellbiotech, did not attend the pre-arrest interrogation (warrant review) for former and current executives of Sambu Construction held from the morning. Chairman Lee was scheduled to be reviewed from 2:10 p.m. The special prosecutor team believes Chairman Lee intentionally did not attend and has fled. Chairman Lee is accused of deceiving investors into believing that Sambu Construction would pursue a reconstruction project in Ukraine in 2023, thereby raising stock prices and selling his shares for hundreds of billions of won in profit. Special Prosecutor Moon explained, "The lawyer also said they did not know his whereabouts," and "If it were a sudden situation like a traffic accident, they would have informed the court."
Additionally, the special prosecutor team announced that they summoned Oh Eul-seop, former head of the network headquarters of the People's Power election campaign headquarters, in connection with the Geonjin Monk Gate. Former Director Oh is identified as the person who received the resume of a county governor candidate from Jeon Seong-bae, the Geonjin Monk, during the 2022 local election phase. The special prosecutor team also conducted a search and seizure of former Director Oh on the 15th. During the summons investigation of former Director Oh, the special prosecutor team is investigating △whether he received the resume of the county governor candidate from Mr. Jeon △whether Mr. Jeon was involved in the nomination process.
The special prosecutor team urged cooperation in the investigation of politicians related to political broker Myung Tae-kyun. It is claimed by the special prosecutor that politicians and related parties involved in Mr. Myung's nomination interference and state intervention allegations are delaying their appearance dates due to non-urgent trials or personal reasons despite the special prosecutor's coordination of the summons schedule. Special Prosecutor Moon stated, "We hope to make the public aware of this and cooperate with the investigation."

theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter