The special counsel team investigating allegations surrounding former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Monday raided the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other locations accused of involvement in a suspected land price manipulation scheme.
The investigators under the team, which was launched in June, conducted search and seizure operations at 10 locations, including the Land Ministry and the headquarters of two subcontractors ― Donghae Engineering & Consultants and Kyong Dong Engineering ― located in Seoul and Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, respectively. The team is led by prosecutor Min Joong-ki.
"We are carrying out a search and seizure operation on a total of 10 locations, including the Land Ministry and two subcontractors to obtain evidence on suspicions surrounding the change in the endpoint of Yangpyeong highway and falsification of related documents," assistant special prosecutor Oh Jeong-hee said during a regular press briefing.
The price manipulation allegations involve the planned Seoul-Yangpyeong highway project. First announced in 2017, it was rerouted with a changed endpoint in 2023 under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
The change in the endpoint of the expressway to be near land owned by Kim’s family in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, sparked suspicions of attempts to manipulate land prices to financially benefit the former first lady.
Though then-Land Minister Won Hee-ryong denied such allegations, the highway project was scrapped after such accusations against Kim and the Yoon administration. The Yoon administration later backtracked on its announcement, saying it would review the plan instead of scrapping it, leaving the project stuck in limbo.
Won and Rep. Kim Sun-gyo of the People Power Party, who was the head of government of Yangpyeong in 2023, however, were not subject to Monday’s raid. Rep. Kim is suspected of submitting the request to change the endpoint of the highway route.
Prosecutors are expected to summon both Won and Kim for questioning after examining documents and computer files obtained from the latest raid. The special counsel team has imposed a travel ban on the two.
The National Assembly requested that the Land Ministry conduct an internal audit of the highway project in September 2023.
The audit’s results were delivered 18 months later in March, revealing flaws in contracts with subcontractors. Several documents tied to the rerouting plan were also deleted before being submitted to the parliament.
Monday’s raid is part of a widening special counsel investigation into insurrection charges against impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed Dec. 3, 2024, martial law bid and several scandals surrounding his wife.
In addition to allegations involving the Yangpyeong highway project, the former first lady has been accused of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme, interfering in the conservative People Power Party’s candidate selection process for the 2024 general election and other suspicions of influence-peddling and covert financial gains.
A special counsel investigation is zeroing in on Kim Keon Hee's alleged connection to a little-known tech firm, raising suspicions of influence peddling and covert financial gains.
The special counsel team on Monday also summoned Kim Beom-su, founder of tech giant Kakao Corp., HS Hyosung Vice Chair Cho Hyun-sang, former CEO of Korea Securities Finance Corp. Yoon Chang-ho and former Daou Kiwoom Group Executive Chair Kim Ik-rae for questioning, scheduled for Thursday.
The four were summoned on accusations of involvement in a shady investment surrounding IMS Mobility, formerly known as BeMyCar, of which the largest shareholder was Kim Ye-seong, an aide to Kim Keon Hee. IMS Mobility received a total of 18.4 billion won ($13.3 million) in investments from the four firms, in a process lacking in transparency.
Kim Ye-seong was convicted for his involvement in forging a bank balance certificate for Kim Keon Hee’s mother, Choi Eun-soon.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
