[2020 National Audit] Former Chairman Kim Bong-hyun Investigated by Prosecution 66 Times... Equivalent to 4 Times a Week on Weekdays

Former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It has been revealed that Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility and a key figure in the Lime case, was summoned for prosecution investigations an average of three times per week.

According to data received by Democratic Party lawmaker So Byeong-cheol, a member of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee, from the Ministry of Justice on the 19th, Kim was summoned to the prosecutor's office 66 times over 167 days from May 2 to October 15 this year. This amounts to approximately 2.8 summonses per week. This aligns with Kim’s claim in his prison statement that investigations occurred "about three times a week." Kim’s summonses were concentrated between May and August, totaling 59 times. By month, there were 15 summonses in May, 15 in June, 15 in July, and 14 in August, which means about four investigations per week excluding weekends. Additionally, summonses were conducted on holidays such as May 2 and August 23.

Earlier, the Ministry of Justice and Prosecution Reform Committee recommended in its 16th recommendation last April to shift future prosecution investigations to visits or video investigations. At that time, the Ministry of Justice announced the launch of a 'Human Rights Investigation System Improvement TF' and stated that it had closely examined unnecessary repeated summonses of case-related persons. However, criticism arose within and outside the prosecution that efforts to improve the practice had not been made. Lawmaker So pointed out, "Although the Ministry of Justice has taken steps to improve the human rights investigation system, it has become clear that human rights violations due to excessive summonses are still ongoing."

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