Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, filed a constitutional complaint against the prosecution's decision to suspend indictment related to the misuse of a corporate card.
According to the legal community on the 20th, Kim filed a constitutional complaint on the 16th of last month against the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, requesting the cancellation of the suspension of indictment. The Constitutional Court formally referred the case for trial on the 11th and is currently reviewing it.
Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, is coming out after the first trial sentencing hearing held on the afternoon of the 14th at Suwon District Court in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News
A suspension of indictment is a disposition where charges are acknowledged, but the prosecutor decides not to bring the suspect to trial considering various circumstances. Although criminal punishment can be avoided, since the investigative agency has determined that the crime is established, the legitimacy of the disposition can be challenged through a constitutional complaint.
The prosecution believes that the so-called 'Samo-nim Team,' which manages Kim's schedule, purchased food worth approximately 8.89 million won, including beef, sushi, and pufferfish, 75 times using the Gyeonggi-do corporate card, and provided it free of charge to Kim and Lee.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office indicted Lee on November 19 last year on charges of embezzlement of a total of about 106.53 million won, including official vehicle usage fees and corporate card payments, but suspended indictment against Kim.
Prior to this, Kim was also tried on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act related to the use of the corporate card and was fined 1.5 million won in the first trial on November 14 last year.
The charge was that on August 2, 2021, after Lee declared his candidacy for the party's presidential primary, he provided a meal worth about 104,000 won using the Gyeonggi-do corporate card to six people, including three spouses of current and former Democratic Party members of the National Assembly, his driver, and aides.
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