Kim Geon-hee to Stand at Photo Line as a Suspect... First Public Summons for First Lady

[Financial News] The Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Team (Min Jung-gi Special Prosecutor) will conduct the first summons investigation of Mrs. Kim on the 6th, about a month after the investigation began. This is the first time a former or current president's wife has publicly appeared as a suspect at an investigative agency.
The special prosecutor team will summon Mrs. Kim to the KT Gwanghwamun Building office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, at 10 a.m. for the first investigation.
As Mrs. Kim's side has expressed their intention to cooperate with the special prosecutor's investigation, it is expected that Mrs. Kim will pass through the photo line set up on the first floor of the building and appear.
If Mrs. Kim responds to the public summons, it will be the first case for a former or current first lady. The late former President Chun Doo-hwan's wife, Lee Soon-ja, and the late former President Roh Moo-hyun's wife, Kwon Yang-sook, were also investigated by the prosecution, but both were in the status of reference. Also, the investigation was conducted privately, and the fact of the investigation was only revealed later through media reports.
Previously, Mrs. Kim was investigated in July last year regarding allegations of Deutsche Motors stock manipulation, among others. However, the investigation was conducted privately at a third location with a visit from the prosecution, and she did not respond to subsequent summons notifications from the prosecution.
The special prosecutor's investigation will be led by a deputy-level official. Min Jung-gi Special Prosecutor plans to start the investigation immediately without having a tea time with Mrs. Kim.
The special prosecutor team is looking into 16 allegations, including Deutsche Motors and Sambo Construction stock manipulation, Myung Tae-kyun's nomination intervention, Geonjin Monk and Unification Church solicitation.
Oh Jung-hee, the special prosecutor, stated regarding Mrs. Kim's investigation, "It is difficult to specify the exact order," and "We plan to proceed with the usual procedures according to the law and principles."
The Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Team focused on solidifying charges by investigating major related parties until the day before Mrs. Kim's summons.
Regarding the 'Geonjin Monk solicitation' allegation, they conducted consecutive summons investigations on Yoon Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church World Headquarters, who was arrested on the 30th of last month. Former Director Yoon is accused of handing over a diamond necklace and Chanel bag to Mrs. Kim through Geonjin Monk Jeon Seong-bae from April to August 2022, soliciting church issues.
They also investigated Kim Tae-yeol, the former director of the Future Korea Research Institute. The Future Korea Research Institute is known to be a public opinion polling company practically operated by 'political broker' Myung Tae-kyun.
The special prosecutor also secured the custody of Lee Jong-ho, the former CEO of Black Pearl Investment, known to be Mrs. Kim's closest aide and account manager, the day before.
Former CEO Lee is accused of receiving over 80 million won in 25 instances from Lee Jeong-pil, the first main player of Deutsche Motors in 2022, promising to get a suspended sentence in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case trial.
The special prosecutor team sees former CEO Lee as a key figure who played the 'control tower' role in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case. Former CEO Lee is also involved in allegations related to Sambo Construction stock manipulation, Chae Sang-byeong's death in the line of duty case, and lobbying for the acquittal of Im Seong-geun and Cho Byeong-no.

jisseo@fnnews.com Seo Min-ji Reporter