Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor, Tension Ahead of Yoon's Summons... 'Myeong Tae-gyun Gate' Investigation Puts Pressure

[Financial News] Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Team (Min Jung-gi Special Prosecutor) is having a standoff ahead of the summons investigation of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is under suspicion of interfering in nominations.
Oh Jung-hee, assistant special prosecutor, stated on the 28th, "On the 21st, we notified former President Yoon to appear as a suspect at 10 a.m. on the 29th, but he has not yet expressed his opinion on whether he will attend," adding, "We have not received any opinion." He further stated, "We are preparing to conduct a thorough investigation in accordance with the law and principles."
The special prosecutor team believes that former President Yoon and his spouse influenced the nomination of former People's Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun in the 2022 by-election in return for receiving poll results for free from Myeong Tae-gyun. On the 26th, the special prosecutor conducted an intensive summons investigation of Ham Seong-deuk, Dean of Political Science at Gyeonggi University, and the previous day, of Yoon Sang-hyun, who was the nomination management committee chairman of the People's Power Party at the time. It is known that Yoon Sang-hyun testified during the investigation that he received a call from former President Yoon but did not reflect it in the nomination process.
Also, on this day, a search and seizure was conducted on the residence and office of Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the Reform New Party, who was the party leader at the time. Lee was designated as a suspect in connection with the by-election around the same time as Yoon Sang-hyun. The special prosecutor team applied for a search and seizure warrant for Lee on the 18th and received it on the 21st, but as Lee was abroad from the 20th to the 25th, the search and seizure was conducted on this day.
Former President Yoon was re-arrested on the 10th by the Rebellion and Foreign Affairs Special Prosecutor Team (Cho Eun-seok Special Prosecutor) but is not attending the special prosecutor's summons investigation and trial due to health reasons. It is interpreted that the special prosecutor team is pressuring former President Yoon to clarify his position. Former President Yoon's side plans to decide on attendance after a scheduled meeting with him in the afternoon. Although there is speculation that former President Yoon might attend to confront the special prosecutor's legal battle head-on, it is highly anticipated that he will not comply with this summons investigation.
On this day, Myeong, the key suspect in the allegations, also did not comply with the special prosecutor's summons investigation. It is known that Myeong received a request to appear as a suspect from the special prosecutor team on the 21st but conveyed through his lawyer that he would not attend. The special prosecutor team considers Myeong's absence as non-attendance since he did not request to adjust or change the investigation date.
The special prosecutor team is trying to gain the upper hand in the power struggle by consecutively pressuring former President Yoon and Myeong, the key suspects in the 'Myeong Tae-gyun Gate'. Recently, the special prosecutor team has been expanding its investigation lineup with various allegations such as the 'Sambu Construction Stock Manipulation', 'Geonjin Monk Gate', 'Deutsche Motors Stock Manipulation', 'Butler Gate', and 'Yangpyeong Expressway Route Change', putting pressure on Kim Geon-hee. It seems that through the 'Myeong Tae-gyun Gate' investigation, they are trying to create a situation where Kim Geon-hee has no choice but to attend the summons investigation scheduled for next month.

theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter