'Suspicion Peak' Kim Geon-hee Arrested Successfully by Special Prosecutor... Speedy Proof of 16 Charges

[Financial News] With the arrest of Kim Geon-hee, who is facing more than 16 charges including Deutsche Motors stock manipulation allegations, former President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife have become the first former presidential couple to be arrested simultaneously in the history of the constitution. The court appears to have issued the warrant by accepting the argument of the special prosecutor team (Min Jung-gi special prosecutor) that highlighted concerns about evidence destruction based on Mrs. Kim's false statements. The special prosecutor team, having secured Mrs. Kim's custody, plans to focus on proving the charges by accelerating the all-out investigation.
According to the legal community on the 13th, Judge Jeong Jae-wook, who is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Mrs. Kim, who is accused of violating the Capital Market Act, among other charges, the previous day. The reason for the arrest is the concern of evidence destruction.
The special prosecutor team pointed out during the pre-arrest interrogation (warrant review) that Mrs. Kim denied most of the charges despite presenting evidence during the summons investigation on the 6th. They argue that Mrs. Kim, despite testimonies and statements, denies the charges and could destroy evidence by coordinating with witnesses and evidence. Additionally, they emphasized the possibility of evidence destruction by noting that Mrs. Kim reset her laptop and did not provide the special prosecutor with her mobile phone password, and that close administrative officers reset their phones.
In particular, the decision seems to have been significantly influenced by the genuine 'Van Cleef & Arpels necklace' presented by the special prosecutor as a 'smoking gun (important evidence)'. The Van Cleef necklace, worn by Mrs. Kim during the NATO tour in 2022, was omitted from the public official's asset list, raising suspicions. At the time, the presidential office explained it was borrowed from an acquaintance, but after the special prosecutor's launch, Mrs. Kim's side claimed the item was a fake. When the fake was found at the residence of Mrs. Kim's brother-in-law Kim Jin-woo's mother-in-law, Mrs. Kim changed her statement again during the summons investigation, claiming it was a fake purchased in Hong Kong 20 years ago as a gift for her mother.
However, on the 11th, the special prosecutor team succeeded in securing the genuine necklace from Seohee Construction, who had purchased it. Seohee Construction explained that they had given the necklace to Mrs. Kim and received it back a few years later for safekeeping. The special prosecutor, aiming to solidify the arrest, secretly maintained the genuine and fake Van Cleef necklaces and presented them to the court to emphasize that Mrs. Kim's statements were false. The court stated, "This is a separate matter," indicating that it should be revealed through future investigations, but Mrs. Kim's reversed position and false statements seem to have influenced the arrest.
With the special prosecutor team securing Mrs. Kim's custody, who stands at the center of 16 allegations, it is expected that the remaining investigations will also accelerate. With the special prosecutor securing Mrs. Kim's custody within about 40 days of the investigation's start, momentum is expected to build.
Given that the court's initial judgment in the arrest review deemed some investigation into Mrs. Kim's charges necessary, the special prosecutor team plans to focus on proving the charges with a high-intensity investigation into Mrs. Kim. In addition to the △NATO tour necklace suspicion △Yoon Seok-yeol's false fact announcement suspicion, which were not specified in the warrant despite completing the summons investigation, they will also accelerate investigations into △Sambu Construction stock manipulation suspicion △Kobana Contents bribery suspicion △Butler Gate △Yangpyeong Expressway endpoint change preferential treatment suspicion.
Meanwhile, with Mrs. Kim being arrested along with former President Yoon, she is likely to be on the defensive in the special prosecutor's investigation. Although she has denied most of the charges and maintained a low profile, it is expected that she will have to redefine her future special prosecutor response strategy due to the arrest. 


theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter