The police will conduct an autopsy on a Yangpyeong County official who was found dead at his home after being questioned by a special prosecutor regarding allegations involving First Lady Kim Keonhee.
The Yangpyeong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced on October 11 that it had obtained a search and seizure (inspection) warrant to perform an autopsy on Mr. A, a public official in his 50s at the level of section chief (Grade 5) from Yangpyeong County Office, who was found dead the previous day. The autopsy is scheduled for October 13.
Mr. A was found dead in the bathroom of his apartment in Yangpyeong-eup, Yangpyeong County, on the morning of the previous day. It is reported that colleagues went to his home after he did not come to work and could not be reached. No evidence of foul play was found at the scene.
Mr. A was questioned as a witness by the special prosecutor on October 2 regarding the "Yangpyeong Gongheung District development preferential treatment" allegations involving First Lady Kim Keonhee. The allegations concern ESI&D, a family company of Kim's mother Choi Eunsun, which allegedly received preferential treatment, such as exemption from development charges, during an apartment development project in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District from 2011 to 2016. Mr. A was responsible for matters related to development charges at the Yangpyeong County Office in 2016.
It has been reported that Mr. A left a handwritten note in the form of a will, stating that he had been questioned by the special prosecutor and claiming that there was coercion during the investigation. He also reportedly expressed distress over the special prosecutor's questioning.
In response, the special prosecutor's team issued a statement saying, "The investigation was neither coercive nor was there any need for inducement."
The police are reportedly presuming that Mr. A took his own life, based on the condition of the body, statements from the bereaved family, and the circumstances at the scene. However, they decided to conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
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