'Jeonse Price 14% Increase' Kim Sang-jo Not Prosecuted... "Difficult to See as Use of Insider Information"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police have decided not to prosecute former Blue House Policy Chief Kim Sang-jo, who was suspected of raising the jeonse deposit using insider information.

On the 26th, according to the police, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which investigated the case, closed the case without prosecution against former Chief Kim. Nam Gu-jun, head of the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency, explained, "After reviewing the lease contract renewal process and related testimonies regarding former Chief Kim, we judged that it was difficult to see it as using insider information and decided not to prosecute."

Former Chief Kim was suspected of raising the jeonse deposit of his apartment in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, which he owned, by 14% two days before the implementation of the so-called ‘Lease 3 Acts.’ The Association of Judicial Exam Preparers filed a complaint against former Chief Kim at the end of March for violating the Anti-Corruption and Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act.

After receiving the complaint, the police assigned the case to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and conducted investigations of the complainant and other witnesses, including tenants, in April. Subsequently, last month, they first investigated former Chief Kim’s wife, who is a co-owner of the house, and then completed the investigation of former Chief Kim.

When the suspicion arose, former Chief Kim expressed his intention to resign on March 29, saying, "I am deeply sorry for causing great disappointment to the public at a critical time when we must make every effort to eradicate real estate speculation," and President Moon Jae-in immediately accepted it. It was widely regarded as a de facto dismissal.

The police reportedly judged that it was difficult to apply the charge of violating the prohibition of using official secrets stipulated in the Anti-Corruption and Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act to former Chief Kim, considering that he and the tenant agreed to raise the jeonse deposit three months before the Lease 3 Acts were passed and that the lease contract was handled by his wife.

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