With Yoon's Dismissal, Immunity Disappears
Investigation of First Lady Kim Accelerates After Lifting Security Restrictions
Yoon's Criminal Trial Gains Momentum
Possible Additional Charges and Re-arrest with Indictment Amendments
The investigation and trial of former President Yoon Seok-yeol and First Lady Kim Geon-hee are expected to accelerate following the Constitutional Court's dismissal ruling. The prosecution's summons investigation of the First Lady has entered the final countdown. The Special Investigation Team for the Myung Tae-gyun case at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Ji-hyung) previously notified the First Lady, requesting her to appear at the prosecution office for a face-to-face explanation regarding allegations of interference in candidate selection, and is currently coordinating the schedule. Although there had been many restrictions due to security issues, these constraints have now been lifted, and the prosecution intends to conduct the investigation swiftly and reach a conclusion.
◆ Summons of First Lady Kim Followed by Investigation of Yoon
The former president and his wife are accused of exerting influence over the nomination of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun in the June 2022 parliamentary by-election in exchange for receiving 81 free opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-gyun during the last presidential election. In this process, the person who communicated directly several times with former lawmaker Kim and Myung was the First Lady. A voice recording was also released in which the First Lady called Myung on May 9, 2022, saying, "The president-elect (Yoon Seok-yeol) called the party and said to just push (Kim Young-sun)," and "It will go well, so let's watch."
Myung's side claims that the First Lady intervened in last year's general election. It is alleged that she called former lawmaker Kim and said, "Support Prosecutor Kim Sang-min to get elected. Then, after the election, you will be given a ministerial or public enterprise president position." The prosecution has also secured records showing that the First Lady made 11 calls to former lawmaker Kim around that time. Given that Telegram messages and call recordings containing evidence of the First Lady's interference in candidate selection have been repeatedly disclosed, her investigation is inevitable. The prosecution is expected to summon and investigate the First Lady first, followed by an investigation of former President Yoon.
◆ Yoon's Criminal Trial Gains Momentum
The first criminal trial of former President Yoon, who is charged as the ringleader of the insurrection, is scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 14th. The Criminal Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ji Gwi-yeon) has selected Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok and Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yeol as witnesses. Both expressed opposition to the declaration of martial law at the Cabinet meeting held just before the emergency martial law was proclaimed. The court is expected to verify through these witnesses whether a proper Cabinet meeting was held at that time.
The defense denies major charges such as the attempt to block the National Assembly. However, this part is already being examined in the first trial of military and police command officials charged with important duties related to the insurrection. If the court consolidates the cases or admits the trial records as evidence, it will inevitably affect former President Yoon's criminal trial. In particular, the Criminal Division 25 plans to examine evidence of attempts to seize control of the Election Commission during the third trial on the 10th involving former Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Intelligence Command Commander Noh Sang-won, both military commanders.
Meanwhile, since former President Yoon is no longer in office, if additional charges are filed or attempts to influence witnesses are discovered, a re-arrest warrant may be requested. The prosecution is likely to resume investigations into abuse of power charges and file additional indictments through amendments to the indictment. Former President Yoon is also under police investigation for allegedly instructing the security office to obstruct the execution of an arrest warrant against him. As demands for further judicial action against former President Yoon are growing following his dismissal, the speed of investigations by law enforcement agencies is also expected to increase significantly.
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