Special Prosecutor Probes Kim Keonhee Case, Raids Lawmaker Kim Seongyo and Others Over Yangpyeong Expressway Favoritism Allegations

Residences of First Lady Kim's Mother and Brother Also Targeted in Search and Seizure Operations

Kim Gunhee, wife of former President Yoon Sukyeol, is leaving the voting booth after casting her vote at the Seocho 4-dong 3rd polling station set up at Wonmyeong Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd of last month, the day of the 21st presidential election. Photo by Yonhap News

Special Prosecutor Min Junggi, leading the investigation into Kim Keonhee, is conducting a search and seizure of the National Assembly office of Kim Seongyo, a member of the People Power Party, in connection with allegations of preferential treatment related to the Yangpyeong Expressway.

On July 25, the special prosecutor's team is carrying out search and seizure operations at Representative Kim's residence and National Assembly office, as well as the residences of Choi Eunsun, the mother of First Lady Kim Keonhee, and Kim's brother, whose surname is Kim.

The special prosecutor's team is investigating suspicions that the endpoint of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project was changed to land owned by the family of First Lady Kim Keonhee, thereby granting them preferential treatment.

The core of the suspicion is that, during the tenure of former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Heeryong, there was consideration in May 2023 to change the original endpoint of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway from Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, to Gangsang-myeon, where the Kim family owns land. Representative Kim, who previously served as Yangpyeong County Governor, is known to have requested the change of the expressway route to the area where the Kim family's land is located. After the controversy arose, former Minister Won canceled the project in July 2023.

Previously, the special prosecutor's team conducted search and seizure operations at more than 10 locations, including the office of the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the design department of Korea Expressway Corporation, and the offices of Donghae Engineering Consultants and Kyungdong Engineering, both of which were involved in the Yangpyeong Expressway project.

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