Finished Investigation in 1 Hour 55 Minutes with 'Complete Refusal to Testify'
Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who appeared at the prosecution on the 5th as a suspect on charges of breach of trust related to the alleged misuse of Gyeonggi Province corporate cards, exercised her right to refuse to testify entirely, ending the investigation 1 hour and 55 minutes after it began and returning home.
On the day, when the Democratic Party criticized Kim's summons investigation as a "political prosecution trying to offer her as a sacrifice at the Chuseok dining table," the prosecution disclosed the schedule coordination process for Kim's appearance and rebutted, saying, "Kim's lawyer refused a written investigation and directly chose the date of appearance. The Democratic Party's claim is false."
Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and lawyer Kim Chil-jun are appearing at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 5th to undergo investigation related to the suspicion of misuse of Gyeonggi-do corporate cards.
The Public Investigation Division of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Heo Hoon) investigated Kim from 1:40 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. for 1 hour and 55 minutes.
The prosecution asked Kim whether she knew about the misuse of the corporate card by Bae, a former Grade 5 special-position public official at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, who was identified as a private secretary, and whether she instructed Bae to use the card, but Kim exercised her right to refuse to testify entirely, and the investigation ended early.
After the investigation, Kim's lawyer Kim Chil-jun, who came out of the building with her, responded to questions from waiting reporters such as, "There were concerns about the summons notice coming before Chuseok," and "Was the schedule coordinated or was it just notified?" by saying, "The schedule was naturally mutually coordinated, but we think the prosecution is conducting an investigation with a predetermined decision and conclusion set from above for the Chuseok dining table, so we naturally refused to testify and underwent a brief investigation." When asked if she refused to testify entirely today, Lawyer Kim answered, "Yes."
When asked, "What kind of questions did you receive?" he said, "They were questions we had already anticipated, but since we believe this is a formal investigation with a predetermined conclusion, we refused to testify entirely." He denied the possibility that the prosecution would summon Kim again for further investigation.
Kim is accused of breach of trust for having Bae and others, including Bae, a former Grade 5 special-position public official at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, who was identified as a private secretary during Lee's tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province from 2018 to 2019, pay for personal food expenses such as sandwiches and fruit using the Gyeonggi Province corporate card.
Cho Seung-rae, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, said in a written briefing in the morning, "The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office decided to summon and investigate Mrs. Kim Hye-kyung this afternoon over the use of corporate cards," and added, "We strongly condemn the outrageous behavior of trying to offer not only the opposition leader but also his spouse as a sacrifice at the Chuseok dining table."
He said, "Since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration took power, it has continuously tried to put Lee on the Chuseok dining table," and added, "Before Chuseok in 2022, the police re-investigated the Seongnam FC case at the prosecution's request, and the day after the holiday, they sent Lee to the prosecution, claiming that his criminal charges were recognized. The prosecution then launched a large-scale forced investigation, including raids, as if waiting for this."
He continued, "The same happened last Chuseok. Before Chuseok, the prosecution requested an outrageous arrest warrant for the leader of the main opposition party, trying to spread the wrong perception that 'Lee Jae-myung is a criminal' at the Chuseok dining table," and added, "If the prosecution's outrageous political operation had not been dismissed by the court, Lee would have been stigmatized as a criminal."
In response to these claims by the Democratic Party, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office strongly opposed them in a statement released in the afternoon.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office stated, "From July 4 to August 2, we requested Kim's appearance three times and coordinated the investigation schedule with Kim's lawyer, but no agreement was reached for over 50 days since the initial summons request date."
The prosecution revealed that it expressed its intention to conduct a written investigation to the lawyer, but Kim's lawyer refused the written investigation and instead set the date of appearance directly.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said, "To prevent delays in the investigation, on August 26, we notified Kim's lawyer of our intention to replace the investigation with a written one. However, Kim's lawyer refused and expressed the intention to appear on September 5 for the investigation, directly choosing the date of appearance, and appeared today with Kim."
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office emphasized, "Nevertheless, before today's investigation, the Democratic Party claimed that the prosecution is a 'political prosecution trying to offer the opposition leader's spouse as a sacrifice at the Chuseok dining table' and argued that 'the prosecution intentionally tries to put the opposition leader's spouse on the photo line just before Chuseok,' but these are false claims contrary to the facts as stated above."
It added, "Furthermore, the prosecution strictly maintained confidentiality regarding Kim's appearance investigation in accordance with the 'Regulations on Public Relations of Criminal Cases,' and did not disclose any details externally until the investigation was completed."
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