▲ Kim Keon-hee arriving for a court appearance
The 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel Team, led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating remaining allegations following the three major special counsels, has indicted former First Lady Kim Keon-hee and People Power Party Representative Yoon Han-hong over allegations of preferential treatment and irregularities in the relocation of the presidential residence under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
According to the special counsel team's conclusion, the relocation site and the construction company were changed following demands from Kim and instructions from Yoon, who served as the head of the Blue House Relocation Task Force under the Presidential Transition Committee at the time.
In a press briefing today (August 18), the special counsel team announced that it has indicted Kim without detention on charges including mediation and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes and abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights. Representative Yoon was also indicted without detention on charges of abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights and violation of the Framework Act on the Construction Industry.
Kim Tae-young, CEO of 21gram, the company responsible for the residence relocation and expansion construction, along with others, were also sent to trial on charges including violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
Kim is suspected of inappropriately intervening to ensure that 21gram, a company with which she has personal ties, was awarded the contract for the presidential residence relocation process following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's election in 2022.
According to the special counsel team, the relocation site was initially selected and announced as the Army Chief of Staff's official residence, taking into consideration the opinions of geomancy experts, the budget allocated from reserve funds, and the construction schedule.
However, the special counsel team found that the relocation site was subsequently 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 special counsel team concluded that the construction company was also changed to 21gram at the request of Kim Keon-hee and the instructions of Representative Yoon Han-hong, and that laws and regulations were violated during the process of entering into a private contract with 21gram for the residence construction.
The special counsel team determined that Kim and Yoon also intervened in the process by which 21gram, which lacked a general construction business license, borrowed the name of another construction company to undertake the residence construction.
Representative Yoon was also indicted under the Framework Act on the Construction Industry in connection with this matter.
The special counsel team also uncovered that Representative Yoon's office requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 3, 2022, to submit event budgets and details concerning the Foreign Minister's official residence, as well as closed-circuit television (CCTV) and photographic materials.
It was also confirmed that Representative Yoon directly 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 under the guise of mediation to secure the construction contract and provide convenience 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 amounting to 3.24 million won in July of the same year.
In particular, the special counsel revealed it was confirmed that immediately after a 21gram official attended a meeting requesting 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 for perjury, having testified falsely during a parliamentary audit by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly in October of last year to the effect that he did not know who introduced 21gram.
He is also accused of issuing, receiving, and mediating false tax invoices worth 3.2 billion won across 29 instances 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 perjury for testifying falsely during a parliamentary audit by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly in October 2024 that he could not remember who recommended 21gram.
Furthermore, the special counsel team explained that allegations concerning illegal split contracts mobilizing the Presidential Security Service—which were uncovered during the investigation but not included in 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 stated, "We will do our utmost to maintain the prosecution going forward, ensuring that the defendants receive sentences commensurate with their crimes."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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