Equipped with Bulletproof Facilities and Costing 1 Billion Won… What Did Kim Keon-hee's Office Look Like?

The special counsel has reportedly secured testimonies and circumstances indicating that an office space for spouse Kim Keon-hee existed in the Yongsan Presidential Office from the early days of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

While investigating allegations surrounding the relocation of the presidential residence, the 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel Team is reported to have recently obtained a statement from an official of the Presidential Security Service to the effect that "an office for the First Lady was set up in the Yongsan Presidential Office."

The special counsel understands that Kim's office space, as stated by the security official, was about half the size of a full floor in the Yongsan Presidential Office, and that a budget of 1 billion won was spent solely on installing bulletproof facilities such as bulletproof glass.

Investigations showed that this was comparable to the amount spent on the bulletproof facilities for former President Yoon's office.

The special counsel also confirmed that the office for Kim was installed during the early period of the past administration.

Previously, during a media interview as a presidential candidate in late 2021, former President Yoon promised to abolish the Office of the Second Secretary, which handles protocols for the spouse, stating that "the president's spouse is merely a family member of the president," a promise he carried out after taking office.

However, multiple circumstances have been captured indicating that Kim's influence was not actually curtailed.

Through various investigations and trials following the impeachment, it was revealed that Kim exercised unofficial power throughout her term, and now the special counsel has also grasped circumstances showing that a dedicated office space existed in the presidential office from the early days of the administration.

Furthermore, the special counsel has obtained statements that in September 2022, Kim directly summoned working-level officials from the Presidential Security Service to the presidential office and remarked to the effect that "the presidential office looks too bare" and that an expansion construction was necessary.

It was investigated that Kim also directly asked the security official at the time whether a budget for the construction could be secured.

The special counsel is reportedly continuing to review whether such abuse of power by Kim falls under the scope of investigation stipulated by the Special Counsel Act.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Kim Na-on | Design: Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.