Former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, who faces allegations of corruption and irregularities surrounding the change of the Yangpyeong Expressway route and its subsequent scrapping, appeared before the 2nd Independent Counsel team for his first questioning at 10:00 a.m. today.

Former Minister Won is being questioned as a suspect on charges of abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights.

Arriving at the Independent Counsel office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at around 9:45 a.m. today, former Minister Won said, "After investigating for over a year alleging preferential treatment regarding the expressway, and finding it impossible to sustain, they now seem to be shifting the focus of the investigation to my declaration to scrap the project." He added, "There were no illegal acts, so things will not go as the Independent Counsel intends."

The allegations surrounding the Yangpyeong Expressway route change stem from 2023, when the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport pursued the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project and allegedly changed the terminal route to an area where land owned by First Lady Kim Keon-hee's family is located, granting preferential treatment.

The original route terminating in Yangseo-myeon had even passed a preliminary feasibility study in 2021, but suspicions of preferential treatment arose when the Ministry reviewed a route terminating in Gangsang-myeon, where the land of Kim's family is located, in May 2023.

Amid mounting controversy, former Minister Won declared the cancellation of the project in July of that year.

The Independent Counsel is investigating suspicions that former Minister Won failed to follow legitimate procedures during this process.