Kang Ki-jung, Kim Bong-hyun in 'Prison Letters': "No Reason to Conspire with a Fraudster"

Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Kang Ki-jung arriving at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in Yangcheon-gu on the 12th to file a complaint against Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility and considered the main culprit in the Lime Asset Management scandal, for perjury and defamation.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Kang Ki-jung on the 20th called the 'prison letter' from Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility and the main culprit in the Lime Asset Management scandal, "a prosecutorial gate where Kim Bong-hyun's perjury, Chosun Ilbo's fake news, and the prosecution's conspiracy all come together."

In an interview with KBS Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs' on the morning of the same day, former Secretary Kang said, "I couldn't interpret why Kim Bong-hyun kept repeating that there would have been no delivery accident even though Lee Kang-se said '(to former Secretary Kang) he did not give money.' Now, the suspicion is somewhat resolved. In the end, wasn't there some kind of conspiracy?"

Earlier, on the 16th, former Chairman Kim stated in a position paper that he had lobbied not only ruling party members but also opposition figures related to Lime, claiming that one of the prosecutors he entertained joined the Lime investigation team. He also revealed that a former prosecutor turned lawyer A, who defended him, demanded, "Let me catch at least Kang Ki-jung."

Regarding this, former Secretary Kang said, "There is definitely a conspiracy involving Kim Bong-hyun, his lawyer, and prosecutors," adding, "It is clear that the prosecution gave Kim Bong-hyun a benefit in sentencing and politically tried to turn this into a power gate conspiracy."

He further explained, "Until now, the situation could not be interpreted only by Kim Bong-hyun's perjury and Chosun Ilbo's fake news, but through this prison letter position paper, seeing scenes where prosecutors drank with Kim Bong-hyun and his lawyer and seemed to make some kind of deal, I thought, 'Ah, some suspicions are being resolved.'"

He added, "Still, I believe Kim Bong-hyun is a financial fraud criminal, and whether it is his court statements or writings from prison, the final judgment should be made by a judge in court or proven by prosecutors through investigation."

Regarding opposition parties' claims that former Chairman Kim's prison letter seems like a 'scripted scenario,' he said, "Our government, our ruling party, or our side has no reason to devise any scenario with criminals and fraudsters," dismissing the claim by saying, "Rather, it is a matter that should be properly investigated as a financial fraud case and economic crime, and efforts should be made to compensate the victims."

He continued, "Lee Kang-se, who is either a related criminal or someone intending to lead the political situation into a 'struggle against the government' or to frame it as a power gate using them, may create conspiracies or scenarios, but our government or ruling party has no reason to create this," emphasizing, "We must painfully accept the criticism of 'prosecutorial protectionism' that arises in relation to the Lime investigation or investigations related to oneself."

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