Should We Specify the Date of Entertainment...Prosecutors Conduct Second Interrogation of Kim Bong-hyun Today

Compressing Entertainment Dates Using Previously Secured Room Salon Employee Mobile Phones

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The prosecution investigating the 'prosecutor drinking entertainment allegations' exposed by Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility and a key figure in the Lime Asset Management (Lime) scandal, is set to conduct a second round of questioning with Kim.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's special investigation team for the prosecutor entertainment and bribery case (led by Kim Rak-hyun, Head of Criminal Division 6) will visit the Seoul Southern Detention Center, where Kim is incarcerated, on the 28th to conduct the interrogation.

The investigation team also visited the detention center on the 25th and questioned Kim for two hours. At that time, Kim's status was that of a witness, and no interrogation record was reportedly created.

During this investigation, the prosecution plans to focus on specifying the exact dates and times when the 'room salon drinking entertainment' took place.

Previously, based on mobile phone data from room salon employees obtained during the investigation of former Blue House administrator Kim Mo, several possible dates when the entertainment occurred have been identified.

Former administrator Kim was sentenced to four years in prison in the first trial for allegedly passing internal documents from the Financial Supervisory Service to Lime.

On the 16th, Kim Bong-hyun issued his first statement from prison, claiming, "In July of last year, through lawyer A, a former prosecutor, I provided drinking entertainment worth about 10 million won to three active prosecutors."

In response, lawyer A denied having drunk with the active prosecutors at the room salon. The prosecutors named by Kim as recipients of the entertainment also reportedly denied the allegations as groundless.

After Kim's statement was made public, the Ministry of Justice conducted several interviews with Kim at the detention center over three days and identified some individuals, including the prosecutors named as recipients of the entertainment, and requested an investigation by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office.