Special Prosecutor Team Raids BAI Over Official Residence Relocation, Investigates Illegal Audit Practices

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[Financial News] The Special Prosecutor Team for Comprehensive Investigations, which is handling the remaining probes of the three special counsel investigations into insurrection, Kim Keon Hee, and the Chae Sang-byeong case, has raided the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) over allegations surrounding the presidential office and official residence relocation.
The team said on the 14th that it was conducting searches at four locations, including the BAI and the homes of related individuals, starting around 9 a.m.
The team is examining whether illegal acts took place during the BAI’s audit of the alleged relocation of the Yongsan Presidential Office and official residence from 2022 to 2024.
The main allegation in the relocation favoritism case is that 21gram, a company that lacked the required qualifications, won the project unfairly by using its ties to First Lady Kim Keon Hee.
Former presidential office administrator Hwang Mo and former Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Oh-jin were indicted and detained in December last year on charges including abuse of authority and causing Wondam General Construction to lend its construction business license to 21gram so the company could take on the official residence relocation work. They are also accused of refusing to comply with requests for documents and making false statements during the BAI audit, in violation of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act.
There are also allegations that Yoon Han-hong, a People Power Party lawmaker who headed the task force in charge of the relocation at the time, intervened in the selection of 21gram. 21gram is the company that sponsored exhibitions for Kovana Contents, which Kim Keon Hee operated before Yoon Suk Yeol was elected president, and handled the design and construction of its office.
The team is looking into how 21gram, a company without the proper qualifications, was able to sign the relocation contract. Although 21gram is registered only to carry out interior design work, the Framework Act on the Construction Industry defines the broader category of contractors that handle overall construction work, including expansion projects, as general construction businesses. In other words, 21gram could only perform interior work, and taking part in the official residence relocation was illegal. As court testimony has indicated that the Presidential Transition Committee instructed a change in the contractor selection process after another company had already been chosen, the team appears to be seeking evidence to support that claim.
The BAI said in 2024 that 15 unqualified companies, including 21gram, had participated through private contracts. However, it dismissed questions at the time about how 21gram was recommended and who made the recommendation. The special prosecutor team is expected to examine whether the BAI received improper pressure or instructions from the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea during the audit process, and whether it intentionally excluded issues related to the recommendation process.
In connection with the allegations, the team is also questioning former presidential office chief administrative secretary Yoon Jae-soon as a suspect starting this morning.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter