Investigation of 'One Shot' Kim Hye-kyung... Police Gradually Conclude Election Law Probes for 20th Presidential Election

Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is seen leaving the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of the 23rd after completing an investigation related to the 'corporate card misuse allegations.'
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The police are expected to soon conclude the investigation into the 'corporate card misuse suspicion' case with the summoning of Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, as reported on the 24th. This case, intertwined with a public official election law violation accusation, raised concerns that the statute of limitations might expire due to the delayed summoning of Kim. The police are also accelerating the handling of public official election law violation cases related to the 20th presidential election.

The Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency summoned Kim as a suspect in the 'Gyeonggi-do corporate card private use suspicion' case for questioning the day before. This summoning occurred two weeks after the police sent Kim a summons. Kim appeared with her lawyer around 1:45 PM and left the interrogation room around 6:50 PM the same day. Although the investigation was initially expected to take considerable time, it ended earlier than anticipated.

In investigations by the police and other investigative agencies, suspects typically review the interrogation records with their lawyers after questioning. They correct and sign the records if there are discrepancies or parts that differ from their statements. In Kim's case, it is reported that she did not spend much time reviewing the records. However, including the review, the total investigation time was about five hours, meaning the actual questioning time was less.

While there might be concerns about insufficient time to uncover the substantive truth, the police reportedly have no plans for additional summons. Since this case is linked to a public official election law violation accusation with a statute of limitations approaching, the prosecution must receive the case at least ten days before the expiration to decide on indictment. Under these circumstances, coordinating another summons with Kim is considered physically difficult. Additionally, Lee, who is currently holding the Democratic Party's national convention and has only the final schedule this weekend, adds to the police's burden.

The police plan to decide within this month whether to send Kim to prosecution based on materials secured through searches of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government and corporate card usage locations, as well as investigations of the involved parties. The case centers on a level 7 special appointment public official A from the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Secretariat delivering food purchased with a corporate card to Kim's residence under the direction of level 5 special appointment public official B from the General Affairs Division of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government.

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is reporting on duties at the full meeting of the Administrative Safety Committee held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 18th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent lawyer Jang Young-ha, who raised allegations of Lee Jae-myung's involvement with organized crime, to the prosecution without detention on charges of false information disclosure under the Public Official Election Act. Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and his spouse, who were accused by civic groups of violating the Public Official Election Act and defamation by spreading false information for calling Lee a 'sociopath' during the presidential election, were not sent to prosecution due to lack of evidence. Also, a case accusing President Yoon Suk-yeol of violating the Public Official Election Act during his presidential candidacy was not sent to prosecution.

On the 22nd, Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun stated at a press briefing, "We are conducting the investigation in consultation with the prosecution and will ensure that no cases go uninvestigated due to the statute of limitations." At a National Assembly briefing on the 18th, he said, "We will manage through the National Investigation Headquarters to ensure there are no concerns from the public about the statute of limitations being exceeded." The statute of limitations for public official election law violation cases related to the 20th presidential election expires on the 9th of next month, six months after the election day.

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