"'Corporate Card Misuse Allegation' Kim Hye-kyung Completes 2 Hours 40 Minutes of Prosecutor's Investigation and Returns Home... 'I Never Used It Nor Even Saw It'"

Spouse of Lee Jae-myung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Hye-kyung. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was summoned to the prosecution on the 7th in connection with allegations of misuse of corporate cards, finished her investigation after about 2 hours and 40 minutes and returned home.

Kim appeared at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province around 1:40 p.m. that day and left the building by car around 4:20 p.m.

Kim is accused of neglecting to prevent a close aide, Bae Mo, a former Grade 5 special position official at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, from paying for her meals with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government corporate card during Lee’s tenure as governor from July 2018 to September 2022 (breach of trust). The total amount of corporate card misuse by Bae was identified as about 150 cases, amounting to approximately 20 million KRW. Among these, the amount directly related to Kim’s corporate card misuse is known to be about 20 cases, worth approximately 2 million KRW.

The police, who first investigated the case, reported that there was an implicit conspiracy between Bae, the direct user of the corporate card, and Kim, who is suspected to be the superior, and sent Kim to the prosecution as a co-conspirator in this case.

Kim is also accused of violating the Public Official Election Act (restriction on donation acts) by providing meals worth about 100,000 KRW to three party-related personnel, her driver, and a lawyer at a restaurant in Seoul on August 2 last year, after Lee declared his candidacy for the party’s presidential primary. The statute of limitations for this charge expires on the 9th. The prosecution plans to decide whether to indict Kim and others as early as the 8th.

Meanwhile, Kim’s side posted a statement on Lee’s Facebook, saying, "I never used the corporate card, never saw it, and did not know that purchases were made with the corporate card." They added, "Regarding the so-called '78,000 KRW incident,' I only paid 26,000 KRW for my own meal, and I do not know who or how the 78,000 KRW for the three accompanying persons was paid." They further stated, "According to media reports, there is a recorded conversation in which Bae and informant A made payments with the corporate card without Kim and her executive assistant knowing, which shows that Kim did not instruct, recognize, or tolerate the improper use of the corporate card."

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