Prosecutors Raid Home of Late President Roh Tae-woo's Wife Over Slush Fund Allegations

Prosecutors investigating allegations surrounding the slush funds of former President Roh Tae-woo's family have launched a compulsory investigation, conducting searches and seizures at the residence of the former president's wife, Kim Ok-sook.

The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office (led by Senior Prosecutor So Jung-soo) has been conducting searches and seizures since this morning (August 21) at the private residence in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where Kim is staying, in connection with allegations of violations of the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment and tax evasion by the former president's family.

The targets of the search and seizure reportedly include the East Asia Cultural Center and the Roh Tae-woo Center—chaired by the former president's son, Roh Jae-hun, who serves as the South Korean Ambassador to China—as well as the homes of former secretaries suspected of providing borrowed-name accounts.

Prosecutors have been continuing their investigation after receiving complaints from organizations such as the May 18 Memorial Foundation, alleging that Kim, Art Center Nabi Director Roh So-young, and Ambassador Roh concealed slush funds and evaded taxes.

These suspicions surfaced when the existence of funds presumed to be former President Roh's slush funds came to light during the divorce proceedings between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Director Roh.

During the divorce trial, Director Roh's legal team submitted a memo written by Kim, known as the "Kim Ok-sook memo," as evidence to argue her contribution to the formation of SK Group's assets.

The memo reportedly details a total of 90.4 billion won in funds.

Based on this, Director Roh's side claimed that 30 billion won of the former president's funds was handed over to the late SK Group Chairman Chey Jong-hyun, an in-law, and used for Sunkyong Group's business activities, including the acquisition of Pacific Securities.

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