Special Prosecutor Summons Kim Geon-hee's Brother for Investigation on 'Kim Sang-min Painting Delivery Allegation'

[Financial News] The special prosecutor team (Min Jung-gi) is investigating Kim Jin-woo, brother of Kim Geon-hee, who is suspected of receiving a painting from former Chief Prosecutor Kim Sang-min in exchange for election nominations.
The special prosecutor team is summoning Mr. Kim as a witness for investigation starting at 10 a.m. on the 19th.
Mr. Kim is accused of receiving the painting 'From Point No. 800298' by artist Lee U-hwan from former prosecutor Kim, along with requests for election nominations last year. The special prosecutor team requested appraisal from the Korea Gallery Association and the Korea Art Appraisal Center, which resulted in conflicting judgments of forgery and authenticity. Despite the controversy, the special prosecutor team deemed the painting authentic and calculated the crime amount as 140 million won, leading to the arrest of former prosecutor Kim.
The special prosecutor team continued the investigation, believing the painting was delivered to Mrs. Kim through Mr. Kim. In fact, the arrest warrant for former prosecutor Kim specified Mrs. Kim as the recipient.
The painting was discovered during a search of Mr. Kim's mother-in-law's residence on July 25.
Mrs. Kim denied any involvement with the painting, stating she would not have bought it herself. Former prosecutor Kim also claimed he only mediated the painting with funds from Mr. Kim and was not involved in election nominations or the appointment of a special legal advisor to the National Intelligence Service.
However, it is reported that the special prosecutor claimed former prosecutor Kim selected and delivered the painting after understanding Mrs. Kim's taste in art.

theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter