The acquittal and dismissal of charges against Kim Ye-seong, known as the 'butler to Kim Keon-hee,' who was indicted on charges of embezzling company funds, have been finalized.

The Second Division of the Supreme Court (Justice Oh Kyung-mi presiding) upheld the lower court's ruling on July 16, which acquitted Kim of some charges and dismissed others regarding his indictment for embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes.

Kim was accused of embezzling 2.43 billion won by selling shares of IMS Mobility (formerly Be My Car) held under the name of Innovest Korea, a borrowed-name entity, to IMS investors for 4.6 billion won in 2023, and then falsely lending 2.43 billion won of that amount to IMS CEO Cho Young-tak.

Investigations revealed that CEO Cho had covered a shortfall in fund establishment with personal debt when a certain company reduced its investment prior to IMS's capital attraction in 2023.

After the investment was finalized, 4.6 billion won from the sale of existing IMS shares was deposited into Innovest Korea. In June and July 2023, Kim transferred 2.43 billion won to CEO Cho as a loan, helping him repay his personal debt.

The special prosecutor team, led by Min Joong-ki, which handled the investigation and prosecution, determined that this constituted embezzlement by Kim and CEO Cho against Innovest Korea.

Kim also faced additional charges of personal embezzlement, including allegations that he and CEO Cho fabricated a service contract between the CEO and the corporation to embezzle 500 million won, and that Kim independently embezzled over 900 million won in Innovest Korea funds for expenses such as his children's education.

The first trial court acquitted Kim of the 2.43 billion won embezzlement charge, stating that there was no evidence of illegal intent to misappropriate another person's property as if it were his own.

The court noted that because CEO Cho had covered the fund capital with his personal debt, the company, Innovest Korea, ultimately realized a financial gain of 4.6 billion won.

Considering this, the court concluded that it could not be assumed that Kim had the intent to embezzle simply because he later paid a portion of the stock sale proceeds to CEO Cho under the guise of debt repayment.

Regarding the remaining embezzlement charges, the court dismissed the indictment, ruling that they did not fall under the scope of the investigation mandated by the Special Counsel Act on Kim Keon-hee.

The second trial court reached the same conclusion.

The second trial court explained, "It can be seen that Kim created the appearance of transferring IMS Mobility shares he owned to Innovest Korea, while only holding them in trust under that name," adding, "The fact that he received the proceeds from the sale of shares he effectively owned under the name of Innovest Korea cannot be evaluated as equating the sole shareholder with the company in a one-person corporation."

The Supreme Court ruled, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment regarding the legal principles concerning the intent to misappropriate in cases of occupational embezzlement, the establishment of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, and the scope of investigation under the Special Counsel Act on Kim Keon-hee."

With this, Kim has received a final acquittal and dismissal of charges approximately 11 months after being arrested by the special prosecutor team on August 12 of last year.

The special prosecutor team had initially investigated whether the "invisible hand" of First Lady Kim Keon-hee played a role in IMS, which was in a state of capital impairment, attracting 18.4 billion won in investments from companies such as Kakao Mobility.

Although the team labeled the case the 'Butler Gate' and conducted an extensive investigation, they were ultimately unable to establish any connection and only indicted Kim on separate embezzlement charges.

(Photo: Yonhap News)