'Roger Vivier Gift' Case Involving Kim Gi-hyeon and Spouse Assigned to Oh Se-hoon's Court

[Financial News] The case involving Kim Gi-hyeon, a member of the People Power Party, and his spouse, who were indicted for presenting a luxury handbag to Kim Keon Hee, has been assigned to the same panel handling the 'Allegations of Third-Party Payment for Polling Expenses' related to Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul.
According to the legal community on the 30th, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 22 (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) will handle the case against Kim for alleged violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. As of today, a trial date has not yet been set.
Kim and his spouse are accused of delivering a Roger Vivier handbag worth approximately 2.67 million won to Kim Keon Hee on March 17, 2023, during the People Power Party convention, allegedly in exchange for Kim’s election as party leader.
The allegations came to light when the Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor Team, led by Min Joong-ki, conducted a search and seizure at Kim Keon Hee’s residence in Acro Vista on the 6th of last month. The special prosecutor’s team initiated a compulsory investigation to determine whether Kim Keon Hee and other so-called 'higher-ups' were involved in irregular contract awards, such as the 21 Gram case. During the search for specific items, including a Christian Dior coat and bracelet, the team discovered a Roger Vivier handbag and a letter from Kim’s spouse expressing gratitude for helping her husband win the party leadership. After temporarily withdrawing, the team returned later that day with a new warrant and seized the items.
The special prosecutor’s team concluded that, during the party convention, Kim Keon Hee facilitated the mass admission of Unification Church members to support Kim Gi-hyeon’s election, and that the gift was given by Kim and his spouse as a token of appreciation.
The assigned court division is also handling the 'Allegations of Third-Party Payment for Polling Expenses' involving Mayor Oh. Oh Se-hoon is accused of receiving both public and private opinion poll results related to the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election from Mr. Myung on ten occasions between January 22 and February 28, 2021, and having Mr. Kim pay the associated costs. The special prosecutor’s team, which indicted those involved without detention on the 1st, believes that Oh communicated with Mr. Myung through former Deputy Mayor Kang, received poll results, and then had Mr. Kim transfer a total of 33 million won to an account belonging to Kang Hae-kyung, deputy director of the Mirae Korea Research Institute (MKRI), which is effectively owned by Mr. Myung.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter