Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Kim Gunhee's Housekeeper over 'Fugitive Departure' Allegations

An arrest warrant has been issued for Kim Yesung (48), known as the housekeeper of First Lady Kim Gunhee.

Special Prosecutor Oh Jeonghee of the Minjungki Special Investigation Team, investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Gunhee, is holding a regular briefing at the KT Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On July 16, the Minjungki Special Prosecutor's Team, which is investigating allegations related to the First Lady, announced in a press release that "the court issued an arrest warrant for Kim on the grounds that there is concern she may not comply with the investigative agency's summons without a valid reason."

Following the issuance of the arrest warrant, the special prosecutor's team is expected to promptly invalidate Kim's passport.

The previous day, the team had applied for an arrest warrant after determining that Kim, who has been staying in Vietnam since April and has not responded to the team's summons, had left the country to evade investigation.

It is also known that on July 1, Kim sent her children to Vietnam as well. The special prosecutor's team had previously stated that they would immediately invalidate her passport upon the issuance of an arrest warrant.

Kim is considered a key figure in the so-called "Housekeeper Gate" case, which centers on allegations that in 2023, a company associated with her received an illicit investment of 18.4 billion won from Kakao Mobility and others through her connection with First Lady Kim Gunhee.

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