Kim Kun-hee Denies Charges, Bribery Charges Under Review for Remaining Allegations

[Financial News]  Kim Kun-hee, who came out for her first investigation after being detained, denied most of the charges. It is known that the special prosecutor's team for Kim Kun-hee (Min Jung-gi's special prosecutor) is reviewing the application of bribery charges regarding the allegations of receiving money from Seohee Construction. The special prosecutor's team has requested an arrest warrant for Kim's butler, Kim Yeseong. The search and seizure of the People Power Party the previous day failed due to the party's strong resistance.  
On the morning of the 14th, Kim, who arrived at the KT special prosecutor's office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, by transport vehicle from Seoul Southern Detention Center, refused to testify in most of the investigations conducted until 2:10 p.m. The total investigation time was 4 hours, but excluding breaks, it was only 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Special Prosecutor Moon Hong-ju said in a briefing, "We conducted an investigation into the alleged unfair election intervention and nomination intervention against suspect Kim Kun-hee," and "The suspect exercised her right to remain silent on most of the charges," explaining that "We completed the questions related to nomination intervention through public opinion polls, and the suspect's refusal to testify led to an early conclusion."
The charges specified in Kim's arrest warrant include stock manipulation of Deutsche Motors (violation of the Capital Markets Act), nomination intervention related to Myung Tae-kyun (violation of the Political Funds Act), and solicitation of interests related to the Unification Church involving Jeon Seong-bae, the Buddhist monk (violation of the Special Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes).
The investigation is ongoing or planned for allegations such as receiving expensive goods like a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace from Seohee Construction, receiving a Vacheron Constantin watch from the CEO of a security robot dog company, improper intervention in the relocation of the presidential residence and office, involvement in Sambo Construction stock manipulation, changes to the Yangpyeong Expressway route and improper gains, and improper gains through the butler.
The special prosecutor's team is reportedly considering bribery charges, which carry a heavier sentence than solicitation of interests, regarding the direct acquisition of a confession from Seohee Construction. The special prosecutor's team has also secured the actual goods in question.
The special prosecutor's team plans to summon Kim again on the 18th for further investigation. Even if Kim refuses to testify again, the special prosecutor's team believes that there will be no difficulty in proving the charges, considering the confession of the bribe giver and the secured evidence in the Seohee Construction case.
Separately, the special prosecutor's team has requested an arrest warrant for Butler Kim on charges of embezzlement. It is analyzed that the warrant cites evidence destruction and flight risk based on the fact that Kim stayed in Vietnam for a long time, engaged in a psychological battle with the special prosecutor's team, and completely denied the charges. Given the suspicion of involvement by "the main body" Kim, the "seriousness of the case" may have been emphasized.
Kim is called the key suspect in the Butler Gate. Butler Gate involves IMS Mobility (Be My Car), which Kim was involved in establishing, receiving investments of 18.4 billion won despite being virtually insolvent.
At the time IMS Mobility received investments, the companies were embroiled in various judicial risks. HS Hyosung faced allegations of omitting affiliate reports and holding affiliate shares in borrowed names by the owner family, as well as tax evasion, while Kakao Mobility faced monopoly controversies such as 'call favoritism' and allegations of accounting fraud by affiliates. Subsequently, the Fair Trade Commission launched an investigation and issued warnings and other measures.
The special prosecutor's team suspects that Kim used Kim's status to receive investments from companies in exchange for resolving their judicial risks during the investment process. They are also continuing the investigation, believing that 4.6 billion won of the 18.4 billion won investment flowed to Kim. The special prosecutor's team is tracking whether Kim was directly involved in this process.




theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo, Choi Eun-sol reporters