'NATO Tour 3-Piece Set' Chairman Lee Bong-gwan, Appears at Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor... Allegations of Favoritism

[Financial News] Chairman Lee Bong-gwan of Seohee Construction, who is under suspicion of delivering a 'Van Cleef & Arpels necklace' to Kim Geon-hee, appeared at the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor's Office (Min Jung-gi Special Prosecutor).
Chairman Lee entered the special prosecutor's office located in KT Gwanghwamun Building West, Jongno-gu, Seoul, in a wheelchair at around 9:59 AM on the 2nd.
Chairman Lee did not respond to reporters' questions such as 'Did you personally give the 62 million won necklace to Mrs. Kim?', 'Is there a connection between the necklace gift and the son-in-law's personnel request?', 'What is the reason for submitting the confession?' and went inside.
Chairman Lee submitted a confession to the special prosecutor's team on the 11th of last month, stating that he met Mrs. Kim in March 2022 and handed over a 'Van Cleef & Arpels necklace' worth 60 million won, 'Graff earrings' worth 20 million won, and a 'Tiffany brooch'. Along with the confession, he submitted the genuine 'Van Cleef necklace' to the special prosecutor. These items were all worn by Mrs. Kim during the NATO tour in 2023, and the opposition party at the time, the Democratic Party of Korea, raised suspicions that these items were not reported in the high-ranking public officials' property declaration. The special prosecutor succeeded in arresting Mrs. Kim by presenting both the fake and genuine necklaces found at the house of Mrs. Kim's brother, Kim Jin-woo, during the pre-arrest interrogation (warrant review). 
It is reported that Chairman Lee made a personnel request for his son-in-law, former prosecutor Park Seong-geun, while delivering the so-called '3-piece set'. In fact, after President Yoon was elected, former prosecutor Park was appointed as the chief secretary to former Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, and former Prime Minister Han stated that President Yoon recommended former prosecutor Park, accelerating the suspicions.
The special prosecutor's team is also scheduled to conduct a summons investigation on former prosecutor Park in the afternoon, and is expected to question both individuals about the circumstances of delivering the necklace to Mrs. Kim and whether there were any other requests besides the personnel request.

theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter