The court has issued an arrest warrant for Kim Yesung (48), known as the "butler" of First Lady Kim Gunhee, who is currently staying overseas.
Oh Junghee, special prosecutor of the Minjungki special investigation team investigating allegations against First Lady Kim Gunhee, is giving a briefing at the KT Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
On July 16, the Minjungki special investigation team, which is investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim, announced to the media, "Today, the court issued an arrest warrant for Kim on the grounds that there is a concern he may not comply with the investigative agency's summons without a legitimate reason."
As a result, the special investigation team is expected to promptly initiate procedures to invalidate Kim's passport.
It is known that Kim left for Vietnam in April, but his exact whereabouts remain unconfirmed. He has not responded to repeated requests to appear before the special investigation team.
The special investigation team determined that Kim has effectively fled abroad and requested an arrest warrant the previous day. In addition, a team official confirmed that Kim sent his children to Vietnam on July 1, and stated that if the arrest warrant were issued, they would immediately proceed with invalidating his passport.
Based on the arrest warrant issued by the court, the special investigation team plans to work with Interpol to locate Kim. If Kim is taken into custody, the investigation into the so-called "Butler Gate" scandal, in which First Lady Kim is allegedly implicated, is expected to accelerate significantly.
"Butler Gate" refers to suspicions that IMS Mobility, a rental car company in which Kim, who has a close relationship with the First Lady, participated in founding and holds shares, received an investment of 18.4 billion won from Kakao Mobility and others in 2023. Of this amount, it is alleged that 4.6 billion won worth of shares were sold through a borrowed-name company for profit.
There are also suspicions that the investing companies, which faced various management issues that needed to be resolved, may have provided funds as a form of insurance or in exchange for favors. The use of the proceeds from the share sale has not been clarified, and there are suggestions that the funds may have flowed to the First Lady's side.
To clarify these suspicions, the special investigation team plans to summon and question related business figures in succession. On July 17, they will summon Yoon Changho, former president of Korea Securities Finance Corporation, and Kim Ikrae, former chairman of Daou Kiwoom Group. On July 21, Cho Hyunsang, vice chairman of HS Hyosung, will be summoned. The team is also coordinating with Kakao founder Kim Beomsoo to set a date for his appearance.
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