Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor, Reinvestigation of Kim Tae-hyo Related to 'Yoon's Fury'

[Financial News] The Chae Sang-byeong special prosecutor team (Lee Myung-hyun special prosecutor) announced that they conducted a closed reinvestigation of Kim Tae-hyo, former first deputy director of the National Security Office, as a suspect last week. Kim, a participant in the so-called 'VIP Fury' meeting, testified during the special prosecutor team's investigation on the 11th that former President Yoon was angry.
Jung Min-young, special prosecutor for Chae Sang-byeong, said in a regular briefing on the 21st, "We called in former Deputy Director Kim again as a suspect on the 18th for investigation."
The second investigation focused on the meeting at the presidential office related to the so-called 'Fury Theory' that emerged on July 31, 2023, when former President Yoon was reportedly furious. The special prosecutor team has been sequentially investigating the meeting attendees to verify what reaction former President Yoon showed and what actions he took. Special prosecutor Jung explained, "The investigation mainly involved re-confirming the meeting situation identified by the special prosecutor with former Deputy Director Kim."
The special prosecutor is also continuously verifying the facts regarding the claim that former Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop's side had a phone call with former President Yoon at that time. Special prosecutor Jung stated, "It seems that the opinion letter from former Minister Lee's side clearly states that they received a call from former President Yoon," but added, "We are continuing to verify separately from former Minister Lee's position."
Previously, former Minister Lee's side announced through a media notice that he had a phone call with former President Yoon at 11:54 a.m. on July 31, 2023, just before the police transfer of the Chae Sang-byeong case was postponed. It was confirmed about two years later that the caller from the number '02-800-7070', which has been pointed out as the starting point of the external pressure suspicion in the Chae Sang-byeong case, was former President Yoon. However, former Minister Lee's side explained that the call was not due to fury but was conducted as part of routine business.
Regarding the 'Protestant lobbying' allegations, the special prosecutor plans to conduct additional summons investigations on related individuals after confirming the substance through a search and seizure. On the 18th, they conducted a search and seizure of the homes and offices of key suspects and witnesses, including former Marine Division 1 Commander Lim Seong-geun.
Special prosecutor Jung explained, "You can understand that we are in the process of separately verifying the possibility that Protestantism was used as a channel in the lobbying," adding, "They say it was religious counseling or prayer, but we conducted a search and seizure to confirm the specific details of that part." Regarding the summoning of involved Protestant figures, he added, "Not immediately, but I think we will call them after analyzing the seized materials."
The special prosecutor team has applied for an arrest warrant for former Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan, marking the first attempt to secure a suspect. Four prosecutors from the special prosecutor team, including special prosecutor Lee Geum-kyu and deputy chief prosecutor Lee Jung-min, are scheduled to attend the pre-arrest interrogation of the suspect (warrant review) on the 22nd. Special prosecutor Jung explained, "We judged that the testimony given by former Commander Kim in Colonel Park Jeong-hoon's first trial and his testimony in the National Assembly were inconsistent with the objective facts from the special prosecutor's perspective," adding, "Based on this comprehensive view, we determined that an arrest investigation was necessary and applied for a warrant."

scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter