Kim Geonhee Special Prosecutor Raids Yangpyeong County Office Over Yangpyeong Expressway Favoritism Allegations

The special prosecutor team led by Min Junggi, which is investigating various allegations involving Kim Geonhee, has launched a comprehensive search and seizure operation at Yangpyeong County Office and other locations in connection with the suspected preferential treatment related to the Yangpyeong Expressway.

Kim Geonhee, wife of former President Yoon Sukyeol, who is accused of violating the Capital Markets and Financial Investment Business Act, the Political Funds Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (accepting bribes), is leaving the courtroom after the pretrial detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on August 12, 2025. Photo by Joint Press Corps

On August 22, the special prosecutor’s team announced to the media, "We are conducting search and seizure operations at more than 10 locations, including Yangpyeong County Office, in connection with the suspected alteration of the Yangpyeong Expressway’s terminus and related incidents."

The team is investigating allegations that, during the promotion of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project, the route of the terminus was changed to land owned by Kim Geonhee’s family, thereby granting them preferential treatment.

The core of the allegation is that, during the tenure of former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Heeryong, there was consideration in May 2023 to change the expressway’s terminus from the original plan in Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong County, to Gangsang-myeon, where Kim Geonhee’s family owns land. Kim Seongyo, a People Power Party lawmaker and former Yangpyeong County Governor, is known to have requested the route change to the area where Kim’s family owns land. Amid the controversy, former Minister Won canceled the project in July 2023.

Previously, the special prosecutor’s team had also conducted searches related to these allegations at Assemblyman Kim’s National Assembly office, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s office, the Korea Expressway Corporation’s design department, and the offices of Donghae Engineering & Consultants and Kyungdong Engineering, which were responsible for the project’s consulting work at the time.

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