Former Justice Minister Park Sungjae Saved Kim Keonhee as "Kim Anbang"... Special Prosecutor Views Them as a "Political Community of Fate"

Yoon and Kim Frequently Spoke with Former Minister Park
Park Booked on Charges of Violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act
Special Prosecutors for Insurrection and Kim Keonhee to Coordinate Scope of Investigation

Former Minister of Justice Sungjae Park is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court on the 13th for the substantive hearing of the arrest warrant.

The special prosecutor team led by Cho Eunseok, currently investigating the insurrection and treason cases related to the December 3 Martial Law Incident, is treating former President Yoon Sukyeol and his wife, as well as former Minister of Justice Park Sungjae, as a "political community of fate" and is conducting an investigation on this basis. During the process of restoring messages received by former Minister Park from First Lady Kim Keonhee, the special prosecutor's team discovered that her name had been saved as "Kim Anbang" in his contacts. This is presumed to be an abbreviation for "Anbangma-nim," a traditional term for the woman who manages household affairs. The special prosecutor's team suspects this as circumstantial evidence indicating a close relationship between the First Lady and former Minister Park.

According to legal sources on the 28th, the special prosecutor's team has secured records showing frequent phone calls between former President Yoon and former Minister Park in May of last year. On May 2, 2024, former Prosecutor General Lee Wonsuk instructed Song Kyungho, then head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, to form a dedicated investigation team regarding allegations that the First Lady had received a luxury handbag. Two days later, on May 4, former President Yoon had a phone call with former Minister Park that lasted about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The next day, May 5, the First Lady sent former Minister Park a series of Telegram messages, including questions such as, "Why are the investigations into First Ladies Kim Hye-kyung and Kim Jung-sook not progressing well?" and "Why has the case involving Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myungsoo been left unattended for over two years?" She also sent a message titled "Prosecutor's Situation Analysis Regarding the Order to Form a Dedicated Investigation Team."

On May 12, former President Yoon called former Minister Park four times, with their total call time amounting to 42 minutes. The following day, on May 13, the Ministry of Justice replaced the head and all four deputy chiefs of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, as well as a large number of senior prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office who were aides to former Prosecutor General Lee. On May 15, both the First Lady and former President Yoon sent former Minister Park the same "jilasi" (rumor newsletter). The content of the jilasi was that, after former Prosecutor General Lee was asked to resign by the presidential office, he allegedly instructed the investigation team to expedite the probe into the First Lady as a form of protest, which ultimately led to the replacement of the team’s leadership. After receiving the jilasi, former Minister Park called former President Yoon on the morning of May 15 and spoke for about 10 minutes.

The special prosecutor's team has additionally booked former Minister Park on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and is continuing the investigation. Once the additional investigation is complete, they plan to summon former Minister Park once more for questioning before deciding whether to indict him. However, since the First Lady is considered only a reference witness, there is no way to compel her appearance if she refuses to attend.

At a briefing on this day, Special Prosecutor Park Ji-young stated, "There are no grounds to forcibly summon (the First Lady) or to conduct a pre-indictment witness examination," and added, "If the investigation cannot be completed within the deadline, it seems likely that the Kim Keonhee special prosecutor team will continue the investigation, so this aspect will also need to be discussed."

The special prosecutor's team plans to coordinate with the Kim Keonhee special prosecutor team regarding the scope of the investigation and other matters in the future. Special Prosecutor Park said, "We intend to limit our investigation to the alleged violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act by former Minister Park," and added, "Considering the possibility of double indictment or the expansion of criminal charges, we may discuss this at a later stage. Right now, it is not yet time to hold such discussions."

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