▲ A transport vehicle carrying Kim Keon-hee enters the 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on July 22.
Kim Keon-hee, who faces allegations of exerting undue influence and receiving valuables related to the relocation of the presidential official residence, appeared for questioning by the second comprehensive special counsel team.
The special counsel team has been summoning and questioning Kim as a suspect on charges of accepting bribes through mediation and abuse of power starting at 10 a.m. today (the 22nd).
This marks the first time Kim has directly appeared for questioning by the current special counsel team.
Being in custody, Kim arrived in a Ministry of Justice transport vehicle and headed straight to the interrogation room through the basement, meaning her appearance was not exposed to the public.
Outside the special counsel office, around 20 supporters gathered, shouting slogans such as "Hang in there, Madam" and "Release Madam."
Kim is suspected of inappropriately intervening in 2022 to help an interior design company, 21gram, secure the contract for the presidential official residence relocation construction.
She is also facing allegations of receiving valuables, including expensive clothing, from the company in exchange for preferential treatment such as winning the construction contract.
The core of the suspicion surrounding preferential treatment in the official residence relocation is that a company without a general construction license won the contract through a private deal after former President Yoon Suk Yeol took office.
The company previously sponsored exhibitions hosted by Covana Contents, which Kim used to run, and Kim is known to have had close ties with the company's representative.
Kim was originally scheduled to be questioned on the 19th, but after the schedule was postponed twice, today's interrogation finally took place.
The special counsel team has prepared a questionnaire spanning 150 pages of A4 paper and plans to intensively question her on the connection between the company selection process and the receipt of valuables, as well as whether Kim was directly involved.
Kim's legal counsel attended the interrogation and completely denied the allegations, stating that the suspicions raised are merely unilateral claims by the special counsel and are not true.
The lawyer added that although Kim's health is in poor condition, she attended to accommodate the special counsel's position and will explain the facts as they are.
Meanwhile, the special counsel team is also continuing its investigation into suspicions that approximately 2.8 billion won in Ministry of the Interior and Safety budgets was illegally diverted to pay for construction costs.
In addition, the special counsel team plans to closely examine whether Kim was directly involved in additional allegations, such as the illegal budget diversion and the minimization of the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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