Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office Forms Special Investigation Team for 'Prosecutor Entertainment Allegations'

Response to Former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun's Prison Statement Disclosure
Criminal Division 6 Chief Leads Investigation... Prosecutor Probing Kang Ki-jung Lobbying Allegations Transferred

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The prosecution has formed a dedicated investigation team regarding the 'prosecutor entertainment and hospitality allegations' raised by Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility, who has been identified as the main figure in the Lime Asset Management (Lime) scandal.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office announced on the 20th, "We have separately formed a 'dedicated investigation team for the case involving prosecutors' entertainment and hospitality related to the Lime scandal,' composed of prosecutors who were not involved in the Lime lobbying case investigation."

The investigation team consists of five members in total, with Kim Rak-hyun, head of the Criminal Division 6 at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, leading the investigation. The Criminal Division 6 is also currently responsible for investigating the core parts of the Lime case, including financial fraud and embezzlement.

The prosecution explained, "We plan to swiftly investigate all related suspicions, and cases such as the Lime fund sales corruption will continue smoothly under the existing investigation team."

Additionally, the prosecution stated that Prosecutor A, who was investigating lobbying allegations against former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Kang Ki-jung, has been transferred from the Criminal Division 6 to the Criminal Division 4.

Earlier, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae directed on the previous day, "There is a need to guarantee a fair and independent investigation into the Lime case," instructing that the investigation should not be under the command of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and that only the investigation results should be reported.

She also ordered the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the Lime case, to exclude the prosecutors and investigators accused of hospitality from the investigation and prosecution teams and to reorganize the teams anew.

Former Chairman Kim stated in a prison statement on the 16th, "In July last year, through Attorney A, a former prosecutor, I provided hospitality worth about 10 million won in alcohol to three active prosecutors," adding, "At the time of the gathering, I was introduced to them as prosecutors who would later join the Lime investigation team, and in fact, one of them did join the investigation team."

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