Special Counsel Summons Former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok Over Alleged Cover-up of Kim Keon-hee Investigation

The second comprehensive special counsel team has notified former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok to appear for questioning as a witness on June 23 regarding allegations of covering up the investigation into Kim Keon-hee.

It is reported that Lee's side has not yet disclosed whether he will comply with the summons.

The "investigation cover-up allegations" involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee center on claims that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office cleared her of charges without a proper investigation while handling the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case and the Dior bag scandal.

In May 2024, when the Dior bag scandal involving the First Lady emerged, Lee ordered the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to form a dedicated investigation team, which led to friction with the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The special counsel team plans to question Lee on whether there were any directives or pressure from higher authorities, including the presidential office, regarding the handling of the cases at the time.

The team is also expected to examine whether the investigation team that decided not to indict the First Lady reported to Lee, or if Lee issued any related instructions.

The special counsel team is also questioning Lee Chang-soo, former head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, today (June 19) as a suspect on charges including the creation of false official documents.

This marks his second interrogation as a suspect since June 15.

Lee, the former district chief, was appointed to his position during a reshuffle that sparked controversy over "bypassing the Prosecutor General," and he approved the decision to drop the charges as the head of the office.

The special counsel team also announced that it plans to summon former Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency Yoon Hee-keun on June 23 as a suspect to investigate allegations of covering up an investigation into overseas gambling involving the Unification Church.

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