Violation of Attorney-at-Law Act in Rescue Lobbying Case
Suspect Interrogation Scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 21st
The special prosecutor team led by Min Jungki, which is investigating allegations surrounding Mrs. Kim Gunhee, conducted a search and seizure of Lee Jongho, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest, on July 19.
On the morning of the same day, the special prosecutor team searched Lee's residence and vehicle in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and secured one mobile phone. The team notified Lee on site to appear for questioning as a suspect at 10 a.m. on July 21.
The search and seizure warrant specifies a violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act, alleging that Lee received 81 million won in 25 separate transactions from Lee Jeongpil, who is known as the manager of Mrs. Kim's accounts, in exchange for efforts to secure a suspended sentence for him.
Lee is considered to have played a "control tower" role in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case, which is a key focus of the Kim Gunhee special prosecutor team. It has been reported that Lee denies ever receiving money from Lee Jeongpil.
The special prosecutor team explained that it became aware of this allegation while conducting an additional investigation into the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case.
Lee was also subject to a search and seizure of his residence by the Special Prosecutor for Fallen Marines on July 10, in connection with the lobbying allegations to save former Marine 1st Division Commander Lim Sungkeun related to the death of Chae Sangbyung. After his phone was confiscated at that time, Lee obtained a new device, which was seized by the Kim Gunhee special prosecutor team on July 19.
Lee was indicted along with Kwon Osoo, former chairman of Deutsche Motors, and eight others for participating in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation that occurred between 2009 and 2012, and the Supreme Court finalized a suspended prison sentence for him. It was found that during the second phase of the operation, from October 2010 to December 2012, Lee used borrowed-name accounts to lead price manipulation together with Kwon and others.
The court determined that three accounts belonging to Mrs. Kim and one account belonging to her mother, Choi Eunsun, were used in the price manipulation. Lee was identified as the person who managed Mrs. Kim's accounts.
Lee Jeongpil was known as the main player and account manager for Mrs. Kim during the first phase of the stock manipulation operation (from December 23, 2009, to October 20, 2010).
Lee is also implicated in several other allegations, including the Sambu Construction stock manipulation case, in which Mrs. Kim is suspected of being involved behind the scenes, as well as lobbying efforts to save Lim Sungkeun and Cho Byeongno. It appears that the special prosecutor team is gradually narrowing its investigation toward Mrs. Kim.
Based on the analysis of the seized materials, the special prosecutor team is expected to intensively question Lee about the substance of the allegations and whether Mrs. Kim was involved.
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