'Bribery Allegations' Lee Bae-yong Faces Second Special Prosecutor Interrogation on Kim Keon-hee Case... Remains Silent

[Financial News] Lee Bae-yong, former Chairperson of the National Education Commission, who is under suspicion of bribery for government positions, appeared again for questioning by the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki.
At approximately 9:46 a.m. on the 13th, Lee arrived at the special prosecutor’s office located in KT Gwanghwamun Building West, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Currently, Lee is being questioned as a witness, but there remains the possibility that her status could change to that of a suspect after further investigation.
Lee declined to answer questions such as, 'What did you discuss with Kim Keon-hee at the Jingwansa Temple meeting?', 'Why did you meet again at Cobana Contents?', and 'Did you ever give a Golden Turtle to Mrs. Kim and request a favor regarding appointments?'
Lee is suspected of delivering a Golden Turtle and Hanji crafts to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, and requesting a government appointment. The special prosecutor’s team reportedly discovered evidence of Lee handing over jewelry to Kim Keon-hee’s side while searching a nursing home run by Kim’s mother, Choi Eun-soon, as part of the investigation into alleged preferential treatment in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District. During the search, a Golden Turtle and a letter were found, prompting a preliminary inquiry and then a full-scale investigation. Lee is suspected of meeting Kim Keon-hee at Jingwansa Temple in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, on April 12, 2022, a month after Yoon Suk Yeol’s election, to deliver documents containing her personnel records, and then handing over the Golden Turtle at Cobana Contents on April 26. It is also known that Lee gave crafts from the Hanji Preservation Foundation, which she operated, to Mrs. Kim.
The special prosecutor’s team is investigating whether Lee was appointed as Chairperson of the National Education Commission in exchange for giving jewelry to former President Yoon and his wife, in what is being called a 'bribery for office' scandal. The position of Chairperson of the National Education Commission was newly created under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, and Lee was its first appointee. After the allegations surfaced, Lee announced her intent to resign on the first of last month.
The special prosecutor plans to question Lee on several points: whether she requested favors from Mrs. Kim at the Jingwansa Temple meeting; whether she delivered a Golden Turtle to Mrs. Kim; whether former President Yoon was aware of these facts when appointing her as Chairperson of the National Education Commission; and whether she was involved in resolving the business suspension of Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN).
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter