Special Prosecutor to Summon Kim Keon Hee's Mother and Brother Next Month... Face-to-Face Questioning for Oh Se-hoon and Myeong Taegyun Also Planned

[Financial News] The Kim Keon Hee special prosecutor's team, led by Min Joong-ki, will summon Choi Eun-soon, mother of Kim Keon Hee, and her brother Kim Jin-woo for questioning. The team also announced plans to conduct face-to-face questioning between Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, and Myeong Taegyun in relation to allegations of proxy payments for opinion polls.
Hyung-Geun Kim, deputy special prosecutor, stated on the 23rd that Choi and Kim will be summoned as suspects at 10 a.m. on the 4th of next month for questioning regarding the 'Yangpyeong Gongheung District preferential treatment allegations.'
The special prosecutor's team is expected to investigate the circumstances under which development charges were not imposed during the development of the Yangpyeong Gongheung District. In addition to the preferential treatment allegations, the team plans to question them about evidence tampering, including the disappearance of police personnel lists and congratulatory cards.
The 'Yangpyeong Gongheung District preferential treatment allegations' involve suspicions that ESI&D, a company owned by Kim Keon Hee's family, received special treatment during the urban development project in the Gongheung-ri area of Yangpyeong County from 2011 to 2016. It is alleged that Yangpyeong County did not impose development charges and retroactively extended the project deadline. At the time, Kim Seon-kyo, a member of the People Power Party and then Yangpyeong County governor, reportedly boasted of his close relationship with former President Yoon Suk Yeol at the opening ceremony of his campaign office for the 2023 Yangpyeong County governor primary, stating, "I approved the permits well" and "The president-elect felt sorry because of his mother-in-law's case."
Additionally, the special prosecutor's team announced that face-to-face questioning between Mayor Oh and Myeong will take place at 9 a.m. on the 8th of next month.
Mayor Oh faces allegations of proxy payments for opinion poll expenses, known as the 'Myeong Taegyun allegations.' During the Seoul mayoral by-election on April 7, 2021, the Mirae Korea Research Institute (MKRI), operated by Myeong, conducted 13 confidential opinion polls, incurring costs of 33 million won. It is alleged that Kim Han-jung, known as a supporter of Mayor Oh, paid these expenses on his behalf. There are suspicions that Mayor Oh was involved in this process. The special prosecutor's team plans to summon Mayor Oh as a defendant and Myeong as a witness for separate questioning. Although the prosecution previously investigated these allegations, this will be the first time the special prosecutor's office conducts its own inquiry.
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor's team will undergo reorganization starting next week with the appointment of new deputy special prosecutors. After 3 to 4 chief and deputy chief prosecutors return to the prosecution from the team where most investigations have been completed, new prosecutors will be dispatched. The two new deputy special prosecutors plan to address the remaining aspects of the investigation and conclude it within the legal deadline.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter