Special Counsel Investigates Former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Lee Chang-soo Over Alleged Cover-up of Kim Keon-hee Case

The 2nd Special Counsel team, led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating remaining allegations following the three major special counsel probes, is currently questioning former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Lee Chang-soo regarding the "alleged cover-up of the Kim Keon-hee investigation."

The special counsel team has been questioning Lee as a suspect on charges including the drafting of false official documents since 10:00 a.m. today (June 15).

The "investigation cover-up allegation" involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee centers on claims that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office cleared Kim of charges—despite her being identified as an accomplice—without conducting a proper investigation when it closed the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.

At the time, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office concluded that Kim was not guilty of violating the Capital Markets Act, reasoning that she had merely entrusted her account management to former Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo, a listed company executive, in hopes of making a profit, and was unaware of the market manipulation scheme.

Instead of summoning Kim to the prosecutor's office for questioning, the prosecution conducted a private, off-site interrogation at a facility managed by the Presidential Security Service.

This sparked criticism both inside and outside the prosecution, with many questioning whether she was granted preferential treatment to avoid being placed in front of a photo line.

Circumstances have also been identified suggesting that the investigation team internally drafted a "non-indictment opinion" before the case was closed and subsequently modified parts of the investigation report after the decision was made.

The special counsel team suspects that the prosecution was unfairly involved in the decision to interrogate Kim off-site rather than summoning her, and in the final decision to drop the charges.

They also view the post-facto modification of the investigation report as an act of drafting false official documents.

Lee and others involved have completely denied the allegations.

They argue that the decision to drop charges against Kim was a conclusion reached by the investigation team after a legal review, and that the report modifications were merely supplementary adjustments made to reflect points raised during media briefings.

The special counsel team is also investigating allegations that pressure from "higher-ups" in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration influenced the prosecution's decision to clear Kim of charges.

In connection with this, former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung has been booked as a suspect for abuse of power, and former Chief of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 2 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Choi Jae-hoon, has been summoned and questioned as a witness.

Kim is also suspected of attempting to "self-cover up the investigation" by sending messages to then-Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, inquiring about the formation of a dedicated investigation team and the status of the probe.

Based on the results of Lee's questioning, the special counsel team plans to determine the specifics regarding whether and to what extent Kim and others will be investigated.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.