Jongho Lee, Close Aide to Kim Gunhee, Has Habeas Corpus Petition Dismissed... Special Prosecutor to Continue Detention Investigation

Violation of Attorney-at-Law Act for Alleged "Sentence Negotiation"
Lee Jongho's Side: "Completely Denies All Charges"

The court has dismissed the habeas corpus petition filed by Jongho Lee, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest, who has been identified as a close aide to First Lady Kim Gunhee. As a result, the special prosecutor team led by Min Junggi, which is investigating allegations related to Kim Gunhee, will be able to continue its investigation while keeping Lee in custody.

Jongho Lee, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest, is arriving at the Kim Gunhee special prosecutor's office set up in the KT Gwanghwamun Building West, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. 2025.07.23 Photo by Dongju Yoon

The Criminal Appellate Division 2-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Kwak Junghan, Kang Heeseok, and Cho Euna) held a hearing on the habeas corpus petition at 2:20 p.m. on this day and subsequently dismissed Lee's request.

Previously, on August 1, the special prosecutor's team requested an arrest warrant for Lee on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. On August 5, Nam Sejin, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued the arrest warrant for Lee, citing concerns over the destruction of evidence.

Lee is accused of receiving approximately 80 million won on 25 occasions between June 2022 and February 2023 from Jeongpil Lee, the main orchestrator of the first round of stock price manipulation at Deutsche Motors, and promising to help him receive a suspended sentence instead of imprisonment in his criminal trial.

Lee is known to have played the role of "control tower" in the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation case, which is a key focus of the special prosecutor's investigation. He is also implicated in other allegations, including the Sambu Construction stock price manipulation case, which is suspected to have Kim Gunhee behind it, as well as lobbying efforts to save Seonggeun Lim and Byeongno Cho.

Lee's side has completely denied the charges, arguing that the special prosecutor's team is conducting an unreasonable investigation based solely on Jeongpil Lee's false statements. Lee will remain in custody and is expected to face further investigation by the special prosecutor's team.