Former Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Oh-jin, who was put on trial over allegations of preferential treatment in the relocation of the presidential residence during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, faces a recommended sentence of 5 years in prison.

The first-instance ruling will be delivered at 2:00 PM on November 20.

During the final hearing held today by the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Settlement Division 24 (Presiding Judge Lee Young-sun), the independent counsel team led by Min Joong-ki requested the court to sentence the former vice minister to 5 years in prison on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

Recommended sentences of 5 years in prison were also requested for a former presidential secretariat administrative officer surnamed Hwang, who was indicted alongside him, and 3 years in prison for Kim Tae-young, CEO of 21gram, the firm that handled the residence construction.

The independent counsel team pointed out, "This case arose because Keonhee, the spouse of the president-elect, was unhappy with the interior design of the existing construction company and had it replaced with a company she had personal ties with." They added, "It was a crime that illegally intervened in a state contract by abusing public authority solely for the purpose of pushing personal tastes, clearly undermining the rule of law."

They continued, "Kim Oh-jin and Hwang committed illegal acts for their own career advancement even though they knew that the company wanted by Keonhee was unqualified," and criticized, "Taeyoung participated in the crime to secure track records by utilizing his personal ties with Keonhee."

The independent counsel team further criticized, "This case was an organized crime carried out at the level of the Presidential Transition Committee and the Secretariat," adding, "As a result of ignoring legal principles such as changing the site, changing the company, changing the design, and lending names, considerable losses were inflicted on the national treasury."

The defense counsel for the former vice minister denied most of the charges, stating, "We acknowledge all the outcomes of this case, but our perspective on looking at these outcomes is the exact opposite of the independent counsel's."

He argued, "It cannot be concluded that 21gram was unqualified to carry out the residence construction, and Defendant Kim Oh-jin did not recognize 21gram as an unqualified company, nor did he attempt to conceal the illegality," adding, "All three links of this case constructed by the independent counsel team are broken."

However, the charge that the former vice minister had caused Construction Company A to negotiate regarding the lending of a construction business license to 21gram (abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights) was acknowledged.

At the same time, he requested that the sentencing reflect the fact that the former vice minister merely conveyed instructions from superiors, stopped at telling Company A to "meet and discuss the matter," and that Company A ultimately did not sign a name-lending contract with 21gram.

While acknowledging some charges, the defense counsel for Hwang pleaded for leniency, stating, "The decision-making for selecting the company (21gram) was not something Hwang, who handled practical tasks, could make, and it has all been revealed that it was made by the First Lady."

In his final statement, the former vice minister defended himself by saying, "The presidential residence is both a living space and a state affairs space, and it was natural to reflect the tastes of those actually living there." He added, "As such, I thought the judgments and decisions of superiors should take precedence over the judgments of working-level personnel."

He pleaded for leniency, stating, "Public officials in the Presidential Secretariat and the Management Office did not participate in establishing the presidential residence relocation plan or any decision-making; their only role was carrying out duties," and added, "I had no intention whatsoever of giving preferential treatment or benefits to anyone."

21gram CEO Kim Tae-young also defended himself, saying, "As a business operator, I should have thoroughly checked legal issues, but I fell short," while adding, "However, I did not plan crimes from the beginning nor commit them intentionally."

The allegations of preferential treatment in the residence relocation claim that 21gram, an unqualified company, improperly secured the presidential residence relocation and expansion construction contract backed by its relationship with First Lady Keonhee.

21gram is a company that sponsored an exhibition hosted by Covana Contents, operated by Keonhee, and had also been in charge of designing and constructing the Covana Contents office.

The former vice minister (who served as the presidential administrative officer for general affairs at the time of the incident) and Hwang were put on trial on charges of abusing their authority to have the government sign a presidential residence construction contract with 21gram, which lacks a general construction business license.

They were investigated for being involved in having Company A lend its construction business license to 21gram.

They also face charges of causing the government to contract with 21gram, which lacked construction qualifications, and of drawing up and using false official documents as if an inspection for completion had been conducted, even though they neither supervised the residence construction nor conducted an inspection for completion.

The former vice minister, Hwang, and the CEO also face charges of defrauding the government of 1.6 billion won by entering into an additional construction contract under the guise of another construction company's name to conceal and reimburse funds overspent by 21gram during the construction process.

In addition, charges of failing to comply with requests to submit data and making false statements during the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit process were applied to Hwang and the CEO.

The former administrative officer had previously been separately indicted by the 2nd Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Team led by Kwon Chang-young on charges of ordering the illegal diversion and execution of budgets during the residence relocation process.

In addition to this, the comprehensive special counsel team indicted First Lady Keonhee and Representative Yoon Han-hong of the People Power Party, who served as the head of the Blue House Relocation Task Force (TF) under the Presidential Transition Committee at the time, on charges of improperly intervening in the residence relocation process.

Keonhee was also charged with receiving valuables worth a total of approximately 10.12 million won under the guise of mediation from the 21gram side to secure construction orders and other favors.

(Photo: Yonhap News)