'Suspected Misuse of Corporate Card' Kim Hye-kyung and Bae Mo Sent to Prosecution... Lee Jae-myung Excluded

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The police have referred the case involving allegations of misuse of corporate cards by Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, who was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and his close aide Bae Mo to the prosecution.

According to investigative authorities on the 31st, the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency booked Kim and former Gyeonggi Provincial Government special grade 5 official Bae without detention around 6 p.m. on charges of breach of trust and violation of the Public Official Election Act, and handed them over to the prosecution. Kim has consistently denied the allegations, but the police concluded that Kim was an accomplice with Bae, the direct user of the corporate card.

Kim is accused of breach of trust for knowingly allowing Bae, a close aide, to pay for her meals using the Gyeonggi Provincial Government corporate card from July 2018, shortly after Lee’s election as governor of Gyeonggi Province, until September last year. The scale of Bae’s misuse of the corporate card is known to be about 150 cases totaling approximately 20 million KRW. Among these, the amount directly related to Kim’s misuse of the corporate card is estimated to be about 20 cases, worth approximately 2 million KRW.

The police referred Kim to the prosecution as a co-conspirator in this case. They believed there was an implicit agreement between Bae, the direct user of the corporate card, and Kim, who was suspected to be the 'upper hand,' regarding the crime. The legal principle of co-conspirators means that when two or more people conspire to commit a crime and only some of the conspirators carry it out, those who did not execute the crime are also jointly responsible.

Bae was hired as a city hall official during Lee’s tenure as mayor of Seongnam, resigned when Lee ran for governor, and joined the election campaign. After Lee was elected governor, Bae was hired as a provincial government official. Later, when Lee ran for president, Bae resigned again and joined the election campaign, becoming known as a close aide to Lee and his spouse.

Additionally, Kim is also accused of violating the Public Official Election Act (restrictions on donation activities) by providing a meal worth about 100,000 KRW on August 2 last year at a restaurant in Seoul to three party-related personnel, her driver, and lawyer after Lee declared his candidacy in the party’s presidential primary. It is alleged that Kim instructed that the meal expenses for those other than herself be paid with the corporate card, as reported by whistleblower A.

Kim’s side claimed, "Kim paid only her share of 26,000 KRW with a political fund card provided by the campaign, and she was unaware that the meal expenses for the three party-related personnel amounting to 78,000 KRW were paid by A using the corporate card."

Furthermore, Bae denied the allegations of corporate card misuse during the last presidential election, claiming they were untrue, but was reported for violating the Public Official Election Act (false statement), and this case was also handed over to the prosecution.

Considering the statute of limitations for the presidential election Public Official Election Act case (September 9), the police concluded the first phase of the investigation by referring some of the charges against Kim and Bae.

Lee was not included in this referral. It appears that there is currently no evidence confirming Lee’s involvement in the corporate card misuse or other processes subject to the first phase of the investigation.

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