Kim Geon-hee's Lawyer "Coordination with Prosecution for Summons? Not True" ... First Statement Released

On the 8th, the lawyer of Kim Geon-hee, wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is suspected of receiving a luxury bag from Pastor Choi Jae-young, stated, "Reports that the prosecution recently began coordinating a summons with Mrs. Kim are not true." This is the first time Mrs. Kim's side has publicly expressed their position since the prosecution started investigating this case.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee (Photo by Yonhap News)

Choi Ji-woo, Mrs. Kim's legal representative, distributed a statement in her name to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office press corps that afternoon containing this information. Attorney Choi said, "We have never heard from the prosecution that Mrs. Kim's summons is inevitable," adding, "We ask that speculative reports be refrained from."

On the 3rd of last month, Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, when asked about the possibility of summoning Mrs. Kim regarding the so-called 'Dior bag receipt suspicion,' said, "There are no exceptions, privileges, or sanctuaries before the law." This prompted various speculations about the timing and method of summoning Mrs. Kim, along with related reports. In particular, one media outlet reported that the prosecution had begun coordinating the summons schedule with the Presidential Office and Mrs. Kim, to which Mrs. Kim's side immediately issued a rebuttal.

Regarding this, most summonses of persons related to the case have been conducted. The Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Seung-ho) first summoned Pastor Choi on May 5, and also summoned Baek Eun-jong, the representative of Seoul Voice, who filed a complaint against President Yoon and his wife, for investigation. Additionally, last month, Jo, a presidential office administrator identified as the 'connection for solicitation,' was summoned, and on the 3rd of this month, Yoo, a presidential office administrator who coordinated the meeting schedule between Pastor Choi and Mrs. Kim, was sequentially summoned and investigated.