Whistleblower on 'Lee Jae-myung Spouse's Corporate Card Misuse' Allegation Appears Before Prosecutors: "I Will Cooperate Sincerely"

Jo Myung-hyun, a former special employee at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government who exposed allegations of misuse of corporate cards by Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared at the prosecution on the 23rd for questioning.

Whistleblower Jo Myung-hyun on the 'Lee Jae-myung's Wife Corporate Card' Allegation Answering Questions
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At around 9:45 a.m., Jo arrived at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office building and said, "I came here as a whistleblower exposing corruption by Representative Lee, and I will sincerely cooperate with the prosecution's investigation." He added, "Although the actions were carried out under instructions from higher-ups, if I bear any responsibility for illegal acts that I was unaware of, I will take full responsibility." When asked whether he had been contacted by Lee’s side after holding a press conference at the National Assembly on the 18th where he revealed his face and name, he replied, "No."

Jo is being investigated by the Public Investigation Division of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Dong-hee) as a whistleblower registered with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. Previously, Jo reported that Kim and Bae Mo, a former special employee at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s General Affairs Department at grade 5, used the provincial government’s corporate card for personal purposes. In August, he also filed a report with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission requesting an investigation into whether Lee had ordered or tolerated the misuse of the provincial government’s corporate card. In his report, Jo claimed, "The accused (Representative Lee) abused his position and authority as Governor of Gyeonggi Province and violated related laws by embezzling or ordering embezzlement of corporate cards that should have been used for official duties for personal use, or by knowingly tolerating such embezzlement to benefit his spouse."

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission recently judged that there is a likelihood that Representative Lee was aware of his spouse’s misuse of the corporate card and forwarded the case to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office assigned the case to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. After reviewing the details, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office began the investigation.

Regarding this case, investigations and trials are actively underway at the prosecution and courts. Bae, who instructed Jo to use the corporate card, was indicted last year on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial in August, and has appealed. The prosecution is also continuing to investigate Bae on charges of breach of trust for using the Gyeonggi Province corporate card to pay for Kim’s personal meals from July 2018 to September 2021. Kim is also under investigation by the prosecution for breach of trust related to this case. However, the prosecution has determined that additional investigation is necessary regarding Kim, who is an accomplice of Bae, and has not yet brought her to trial.