[Summary] "Establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office" vs "Introduction of Special Prosecutor" 'Kim Bong-hyun's Prison Letter' Ruling and Opposition Parties' Dispute

Ruling Party: "The first target of the Corruption Investigation Office should be the 'Kim Bong-hyun Exposure Case'"
Opposition: "Those opposing the special prosecutor are the main culprits of a massive fraud"

Former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, identified as the main culprit in the 'Lime Asset Management (Lime) scandal,' revealed in a 'statement from prison' that he also lobbied opposition figures and entertained a current prosecutor. The photo shows Kim's statement released through his lawyer on the 16th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] As the prison letter of Kim Bong-hyun (46), former chairman of Star Mobility and considered the main culprit of Lime Asset Management, was revealed, the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the Lime and Optimus fund fraud scandal is intensifying. The ruling party is urging the establishment of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI), while the opposition party is countering by demanding the introduction of a special prosecutor (special investigation).

The Democratic Party of Korea defined Kim's prison letter as an "exposure of a fabricated investigation" and argued that this case should become the first investigation target of the HOCI.

Choi In-ho, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, wrote on his Facebook on the 18th in a post titled "Kim Bong-hyun's Exposure of Fabricated Investigation and the First Investigation Target of HOCI," saying, "As Kim Bong-hyun's exposure of fabricated investigation highlights the necessity of establishing the HOCI, there is a claim that the Kim Bong-hyun exposure case should become the first investigation target of the HOCI," adding, "It is a reasonable claim."

Choi pointed out, "The fabricated investigation suspicion mentions most of the HOCI investigation targets, including the Prosecutor General, former and current high-ranking prosecutors, the prosecutors investigating the case, members of the National Assembly, and influential politicians," and added, "There are already concerns that the Ministry of Justice's inspection or the prosecution's own investigation may not clearly reveal the truth or may produce different results."

He continued, "Therefore, it should become the first investigation target of the HOCI," and added, "In any case, it is lamentable that the number of HOCI investigation targets is increasing."

Shin Young-dae, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, also stated at a briefing at the National Assembly Communication Office on the same day, "Attempts of political intervention by the prosecution without control must be fundamentally blocked by the HOCI," and argued, "If Kim Bong-hyun's claims are proven true through the Ministry of Justice's inspection, a separate investigation from the financial fraud case will be necessary."

Shin urged, "If the People Power Party does not intend to condone or cooperate with the prosecution's political intervention, please expedite the recommendation of the HOCI chief candidate," and said, "The Democratic Party will do its utmost to achieve checks and balances over power institutions through the prompt launch of the HOCI."

Song Young-gil, a member of the same party, also wrote on his Facebook on the same day, "If the prosecution fabricated charges to catch former senior secretary Kang Ki-jung as stated in Kim's handwritten statement and ignored lobbying testimonies about the prosecution and opposition politicians, it is a serious criminal act," and said, "I hope a thorough investigation will be conducted and the truth will be revealed as the President said."

Kim Bong-hyun, chairman of Star Mobility and identified as the key figure in political and business lobbying as well as the main financier in the Lime Asset Management scandal that caused damages worth approximately 1.6 trillion KRW, is coming out of the detention center at Suwon Southern Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of April 26 to attend a pre-arrest warrant hearing for embezzling 24.1 billion KRW of company funds from Suwon Passenger Transport (violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes).
Photo by Yonhap News

The People Power Party responded by demanding the introduction of a special prosecutor. In particular, they also mentioned the possibility of an outside protest related to this case.

The People Power Party's "Lime and Optimus Power Corruption Gate Special Committee" issued a statement on the day, saying, "Those who oppose the special prosecutor are the main culprits of this huge fraud," and urged, "Since the prosecution, the opposition party, and the power are all protecting each other, whom can the people and victims trust? To firmly establish law and principles, an independent special prosecutor investigation must be conducted."

They added, "Whenever suspicions are confirmed as facts, the Democratic Party defended them as 'one-sided claims of related parties.' It is truly laughable to see the Democratic Party cheer over a single handwritten document," and said, "We plan to deliver key materials from the Korea Radio Promotion Association, Namdong Power Plant, and others secured during the National Assembly audit process to the prosecution so that they can be used in the investigation."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, said in an MBN interview on the day, "The means to enforce the special prosecutor is a parliamentary resolution, but we only have 103 seats, and the Democratic Party, holding the majority, is trying to crush it," adding, "We are also considering outside protests. We will do our best to pass the special prosecutor law within the National Assembly, but if it fails, we are also considering appealing directly to the people."

Yoon Hee-seok, spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized on the 17th in a commentary, "It is suspicious why Kim Bong-hyun, who exposed the 'Blue House political secretary lobbying,' suddenly released a statement mentioning the 'Yoon Seok-yeol faction' and 'prosecution reform,'" and said, "It is confusing why the opposition party is suddenly dragged into this."

Yoon added, "The attitude of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and the ruling party suddenly changed. They remained silent about suspicions involving their side but fiercely attacked as if something came out from a single prison letter," and said, "Regardless of the truth of the content, now that the prison letter itself has been disclosed, it has become difficult to fully trust the prosecution's investigation. Therefore, entrusting the investigation to an independent special prosecutor is the wisest choice," urging the introduction of a special prosecutor.

Baek Hyun-jin, floor spokesperson, also emphasized, "Whenever Kim Bong-hyun writes a letter, the ruling party reacts in sync. Kim Bong-hyun's prison activities are escalating this astronomical financial fraud case into a political lobbying scandal. Anyway, if the guilty are punished, it is fine," and stressed, "Whether in politics or prosecution, let's go with a special prosecutor to uncover the guilty regardless of rank or status."

Earlier, Kim Bong-hyun revealed through his lawyer on the 16th in a "prison statement" that he had bribed current prosecutors.

Kim claimed, "In July last year, through lawyer A, a former official, I entertained three current prosecutors with drinks worth about 10 million won," and added, "At the time of the gathering, I was introduced that they would later join the Lime investigation team, and in fact, one of them participated in the investigation team." He also said he lobbied opposition politicians and reported this to the prosecution, but the investigation did not proceed properly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.