▲ Kim Keon-hee arriving for a court appearance
The 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel team, led by Kwon Chang-young, has indicted Kim Keon-hee and People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Han-hong on charges related to preferential treatment and irregularities surrounding the relocation of the presidential residence under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
According to the special counsel team, the target site for the residence and the construction company were changed following demands from Kim and instructions from Yoon, who served as the head of the Cheong Wa Dae Relocation Task Force for the Presidential Transition Committee at the time.
On the 18th of last month, the special counsel team indicted Kim without detention on charges including mediation through influence under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes and abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights. Yoon was also indicted without detention on charges of abuse of authority and violations of the Framework Act on the Construction Industry.
Kim Tae-young, head of 21gram, the firm responsible for the residence relocation and remodeling construction, was also indicted along with others on charges including violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
Kim Keon-hee is accused of inappropriately intervening during the presidential residence relocation process following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's election victory in 2022 to secure the construction contract for 21gram, a company with which she had personal ties.
According to the special counsel team, the original site for the residence relocation had been selected and announced as the Army Chief of Staff's official residence, taking into account the advice of feng shui experts, the budget range allocated from reserve funds, and the construction schedule.
However, the special counsel team found that the relocation site was later changed to the Foreign Minister's official residence as Kim, Yoon, and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun visited the Foreign Minister's official residence multiple times.
The construction company was also changed to 21gram at the request of Kim Keon-hee and the instruction of lawmaker Yoon Han-hong, and the special counsel determined that laws and regulations were violated in the process of concluding a private contract for the residence construction with 21gram.
The special counsel team concluded that Kim and Yoon also intervened in the process by which 21gram, which did not hold a general construction business license, borrowed the business name of another construction company to undertake the residence construction.
In connection with this, Yoon was also indicted for violating the Framework Act on the Construction Industry.
The special counsel team also discovered that lawmaker Yoon's office requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 3, 2022, to submit event budgets and details regarding the Foreign Minister's official residence, as well as closed-circuit television and photographic materials.
It was also confirmed that Yoon personally visited the residence construction site to inspect the construction progress even after the presidential inauguration.
Kim was additionally charged with receiving money and valuables worth a total of approximately 10.12 million won from 21gram as a form of mediation to secure the construction contract and receive conveniences regarding construction costs.
The special counsel team determined that 21gram provided Kim with items worth approximately 6.88 million won—including Dior clothing, a belt, and a bracelet—in May 2022, and paid for a Chanel product worth 3.24 million won on her behalf in July of the same year.
Specifically, the special counsel stated that it confirmed that shortly after a 21gram official attended a meeting demanding an increase in construction costs, CEO Kim Tae-young's side purchased Dior clothing and other items, visited Acro Vista in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and delivered them to Kim.
In addition to charges related to the residence construction, CEO Kim was also indicted on charges of giving false testimony during a parliamentary audit by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly in October of last year, claiming that he did not know who introduced 21gram.
He is also accused of issuing, receiving, and mediating 29 false tax invoices totaling approximately 3.2 billion won without actually supplying or receiving goods or services between June and September 2022.
Former Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Oh-jin was additionally indicted on charges of giving false testimony during a parliamentary audit by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly in October 2024, stating that he could not remember who recommended 21gram.
Furthermore, the special counsel team explained that allegations regarding illegal split contracts involving the Presidential Security Service, which were identified during the investigation but fell outside the scope of the Comprehensive Special Counsel Act, will be transferred to the National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency.
The special counsel team added that it will do its utmost to maintain the prosecution in the future to ensure that the defendants receive sentences commensurate with their crimes.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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