On the 30th, Lee Myeong-su, a reporter from Seoul's Voice who purchased the Christian Dior pouch that Pastor Choi Jae-young gifted to First Lady Kim Geon-hee directly from a department store and delivered it to Pastor Choi, appeared at the prosecution for questioning.
In the mid-level prosecutor personnel reshuffle conducted the previous day, Kim Seung-ho, chief prosecutor of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 33), who is investigating allegations of luxury bag acceptance by the First Lady, was retained, drawing attention to the future speed and intensity of the prosecution's investigation.
Lee Myung-su, a reporter from Seoul Voice, revealing through a YouTube broadcast that he personally purchased the bag handed to Mrs. Kim Geon-hee. Photo by Seoul Voice YouTube broadcast capture
The Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office summoned reporter Lee at 2 p.m. that day as a suspect on charges including violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and defamation for investigation.
After President Yoon Seok-yeol's inauguration, on September 13, 2022, Pastor Choi visited First Lady Kim at the Cobana Contents office located in the basement of Acrovista in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, and gifted a Christian Dior pouch worth about 3 million won. Reporter Lee purchased the bag with his own money and delivered it to Pastor Choi.
Reporter Lee filmed and released footage of himself purchasing the bag directly at the department store. It is also known that the wristwatch-type hidden camera used to film Pastor Choi handing over the gift was prepared and delivered to Pastor Choi by reporter Lee. It is reported that from March 2022, shortly after President Yoon's election, reporter Lee discussed undercover reporting on First Lady Kim together with Pastor Choi.
Seoul's Voice released footage filmed in November last year and filed a complaint against President Yoon and his wife for violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and bribery charges.
Reporter Lee is the person who disclosed a seven-hour phone call with First Lady Kim ahead of the presidential election in January 2022 through MBC and Seoul's Voice. In relation to this, First Lady Kim filed a lawsuit for damages against reporter Lee and Baek Eun-jong, CEO of Seoul's Voice, and last month the Supreme Court confirmed a judgment ordering 10 million won in damages.
Earlier, Hong Jeong-sik, head of the civic group Halbindan, filed a complaint with the prosecution against Pastor Choi, CEO Baek, and reporter Lee on charges including violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, defamation, and false accusation.
At the time, Hong stated in the complaint, "The accused have habitually engaged in false personal slander, insults, and defamation against President Yoon Seok-yeol and his spouse, First Lady Kim Geon-hee." He added, "The accused, facing a court judgment for damages due to defamation from recorded phone calls with President Yoon and First Lady Kim, and under pressure from public opinion, released secretly filmed footage of the gift-giving process on their YouTube channel in September last year and distributed it to the media to join the Democratic Party's special prosecutor political offensive, thereby committing acts of personal insult and defamation against President Yoon and First Lady Kim."
He further emphasized, "The series of acts committed in conspiracy by the accused under the pretext of 'the public's right to know' were criminal acts intended to intentionally and maliciously defame and slander President Yoon and First Lady Kim. In particular, the accused conspired in advance, equipped a wrist camera, and secretly filmed the gift-giving process, which constitutes an act of offering a bribe under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, making punishment under the relevant laws inevitable."
Hong also stated, "The accused filed complaints against President Yoon and First Lady Kim at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act to legally challenge their own gift-giving acts. Despite knowing that under the current Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the recipient First Lady Kim is not punished while the giver is, and that the president is constitutionally immune from criminal prosecution, they repeatedly filed complaints to intentionally damage and insult the honor of the presidential couple and disseminated these to the media. Such acts by the accused are serious crimes with impure intentions to damage the honor and dignity of the head of state, the president, thereby lowering national prestige, and they cannot avoid criminal punishment under defamation, insult, and false accusation laws."
The prosecution summoned Hong for complainant questioning on the 9th, then summoned Pastor Choi and CEO Baek for questioning on the 13th and 20th respectively. On the day CEO Baek came for complainant questioning, he additionally raised suspicions related to First Lady Kim and filed further complaints.
Meanwhile, controversy arose when all the top officials who led the investigation related to First Lady Kim were replaced in the personnel reshuffle of prosecutors at the level of high prosecutors and chief prosecutors conducted on the 13th.
At that time, Song Kyung-ho, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, known to have had conflicts with the Yongsan Presidential Office over the investigation of First Lady Kim, was promoted to chief prosecutor of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office and transferred, and Lee Chang-soo, former spokesperson when President Yoon was prosecutor general, was appointed as his successor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Additionally, Kim Chang-jin, first deputy chief prosecutor who led the investigation into the luxury bag acceptance allegations, was assigned as planning director at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and Ko Hyung-gon, fourth deputy chief prosecutor who led the investigation into the stock manipulation allegations involving Deutsche Motors related to First Lady Kim, was assigned as deputy chief prosecutor at the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office. Although all three were promoted to high prosecutor or chief prosecutor positions outwardly, they were assigned to departments distant from frontline investigations, leading to evaluations that these were 'demotion promotions' reflecting President Yoon's dissatisfaction with the investigation into First Lady Kim.
Before the mid-level prosecutor personnel reshuffle the previous day, attention was focused on whether the frontline investigation team leadership would also be replaced following the top officials. Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok reportedly requested the Ministry of Justice to retain Kim Seung-ho, chief of Criminal Division 1, and Choi Jae-hoon, head of Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2, at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office before the reshuffle. However, as the announcement of the mid-level prosecutor personnel reshuffle was delayed beyond expectations, there was analysis that Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae was considering replacing the two until the last moment, but ultimately it was decided to maintain the existing investigation team.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
