Comprehensive Special Counsel Imposes Travel Bans on Lee Won-seok and Song Gyeong-ho over Alleged Lenient Probe into Kim Keon-hee

The Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Team, led by Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young, has imposed overseas travel bans on senior prosecutors who previously handled the allegations that First Lady Kim Keon-hee received a Lady Dior bag.
According to legal sources on the 14th, the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Team recently barred former Prosecutor General of South Korea Lee Won-seok and former Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Song Gyeong-ho from leaving the country. The team is reportedly seeking to determine whether the prosecution faced any external pressure from the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea or the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) while investigating the allegations surrounding Kim’s Lady Dior bag.
The controversy began in November 2023, when a video was released showing Kim Keon-hee receiving a Lady Dior bag from Pastor Choi Jae-young. In May 2024, then–Prosecutor General of South Korea Lee Won-seok ordered the creation of a dedicated investigation team for Kim, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office took charge of the probe. However, the office questioned Kim at a "third location" without prior reporting to Lee, and later dropped the case, clearing both Kim and Pastor Choi of all charges.
During the subsequent investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Team for Kim Keon-hee, led by Special Counsel Min Joung-kie, it emerged that in May 2024 Kim had sent a message to then–Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae asking about the formation of the dedicated investigation team and the status of the probe. This revelation prompted allegations that she attempted to use the investigation to shield herself, described as a "self-serving attempt to quash the probe." In response, the Special Prosecutor's Team for Kim Keon-hee raided the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and the MOJ, but ultimately handed the case over to the police, citing insufficient time remaining in its mandate and other constraints.
Around the same period, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office also decided not to indict Kim over alleged stock manipulation involving Deutsche Motors, citing insufficient evidence. Later, during a reinvestigation by the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, a recording surfaced suggesting that Kim was aware of the stock-rigging scheme, which in turn fueled criticism that the earlier investigation had been inadequate.
In connection with these matters, the Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Team conducted raids on the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea (SPO) and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on the 23rd of last month and again on the 2nd of this month.
kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-gyu Reporter