Special Prosecutor Raids Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Over Kim Keon Hee 'Self-Investigation Suspension' Allegations

[Financial News] The Special Prosecutor Team for Kim Keon Hee (led by Min Joong-ki), which is investigating allegations of 'self-investigation suspension' involving Kim Keon Hee, launched a compulsory investigation into the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 18th.
On this day, the special prosecutor team sent prosecutors and investigators to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to secure files and other materials from office computers.
This move is reportedly aimed at reviewing whether the prosecutors' decision in October last year to clear Kim Keon Hee of allegations regarding the Lady Dior bag was conducted lawfully.
On the 2nd of this month, the special prosecutor team also conducted searches at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the office of the Special Prosecutor's Team for Insurrection at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office to secure materials related to the self-investigation suspension allegations.
The allegations center on claims that in May last year, Kim Keon Hee instructed Park Sung-jae, then Minister of Justice (MOJ), to halt the prosecution's investigation into herself.
It was found that Kim Keon Hee sent messages to former Minister Park asking, 'How is my investigation going?', 'Why are the investigations into Kim Hye-kyung and Kim Jung-sook not progressing well?', and 'Why has the case involving Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea Kim Myeong-su been left unattended for over two years?' Around the same time, Former President Yoon Suk Yeol also communicated with former Minister Park via Telegram and other means.
Ultimately, on May 13 of that year, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) replaced the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and all four Deputy Chief Prosecutors, and also carried out a large-scale reshuffle of the Senior Staff of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
The new investigation team questioned Kim Keon Hee not at the prosecutors' office but at an annex of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), and in October last year, cleared her of all charges related to both the Lady Dior bag and the DEUTSCH MOTORS INC. stock price manipulation incident.
The special prosecutor team continues its investigation to determine whether Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, his wife, and former Minister Park abused their authority. The prosecution is expected to analyze the seized materials during the remaining investigation period and transfer the case to the police along with other evidence.


kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-gyu Reporter