Investigation delved into an array of suspicions from stock rigging and bribery to political interference
Sunday marked the conclusion of the 180-day investigation by the special counsel team looking into accusations against Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The team led by Min Joong-ki is scheduled to conduct a briefing on its investigation at 10 a.m. Monday at the special counsel's office in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. Further investigation against Kim is expected to be conducted by the National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency.
Forming the backbone of the investigation were Kim's alleged connection to a Deutsch Motors stock manipulation scheme, her alleged election interference involving pollster Myung Tae-kyun, as well as bribery suspicions, including a case involving the Unification Church.
Since the probe's launch on July 2, Min's team has made multiple high-profile arrests and indictments. This includes taking Rep. Kweon Song-dong of the main opposition People Power Party and Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja into custody.
People Power Party Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon and his wife were indicted Saturday, accused of giving a luxury gift to Kim. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been indicted on charges of having a sponsor pay for opinion polls conducted by Myung.
In a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on Dec. 3, the special counsel team requested that Kim be sentenced to 15 years in prison and a seizure of 2 billion won ($1.4 million) in criminal proceedings, accusing her of "incapacitating the justice system."
The requested sentence is for Kim's alleged stock manipulation, the Myung scandal, and bribery for mediation charges related to the Unification Church. Investigations for other charges are still underway.
Kim has denied all charges and is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 28.
Abuse of position, overstepping authority
Despite not holding any official position within the government, Kim is believed to have used her influence as Yoon's wife to commit crimes.
Yoon and Kim are accused of receiving the results of over 50 opinion polls from Myung for free in the lead-up to the 2022 presidential election, in violation of the Political Funds Act. Myung is accused of providing the illegal polls.
This is believed to be in exchange for Yoon and Kim's help with securing candidate nominations for the June 2022 parliamentary by-elections, by which time Yoon had been elected as the South Korean leader.
Two weeks after the prosecution requested Kim's jail term, testimony by Kim's close aide, Lee Jong-ho, appeared to confirm her suspected involvement in stock manipulation. Lee had previously managed Kim's bank account related to the Deutsch Motors scandal and had been a central figure in the special counsel probe.
The special counsel team then zeroed in on a series of charges against Kim that had been cleared by the prosecution when Yoon was in office, including the stock manipulation case and Kim's alleged receipt of a luxury bag from a Korean American pastor.
Accused of accepting gifts from multiple parties in exchange for favors, Kim last month admitted that she did receive two Chanel bags from the Unification Church. She claimed that they were given purely out of goodwill, and not in exchange for favors.
Shortcomings of the probe
The special counsel, however, failed to find clear evidence of Kim's alleged stock manipulation linked to Sambu Construction or suspicions of favoritism in the construction of the Yangpyeong Expressway. It also fell short of proving that any bribes received by Kim were directly connected to Yoon himself. This would have elevated charges to bribery of public officials, which is accompanied by more severe punishment.
Another dispute over the alleged bias of the special counsel broke out this month, when former Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo was accused of receiving bribes from the Unification Church. The opposition claimed that Min's team had focused only on the People Power Party's links to the investigation, when there was reason to believe that personnel from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea were also involved.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
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