South Korea's ex-First Lady, associate to appear for special counsel questioning Monday

Seoul, Aug 17 (IANS) South Korea's former First Lady Kim Keon Hee and her close associate are set to appear before a special counsel team for questioning at the same time on Monday, officials said, raising the possibility of a cross-examination.

The sessions will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday as special counsel Min Joong-ki has been investigating corruption allegations surrounding Kim, including those in connection to Kim Ye-seong, known as the "butler" of her family, Yonhap News Agency reported.

It would mark the second questioning for the former First Lady after her arrest last Tuesday and the first for Kim Ye-seong after a Seoul court issued his arrest warrant Friday over allegations of embezzling 3.38 billion won ($2.4 million) from IMS Mobility, a company he has a stake in.

Min's team has been investigating allegations that IMS Mobility unfairly received 18.4 billion won in investments from several companies, including Kakao Mobility Corp, in 2023.

Considering that IMS Mobility was effectively in a state of capital impairment at the time, special prosecutors suspect the companies made the investment in consideration of their connection to Kim and the former First Lady.

Special prosecutors suspect that Kim funnelled some of the investment into another company he effectively controlled.

The special counsel team is also looking into allegations that the embezzled funds or other profits may have possibly been funnelled to the former first lady's family.

Kim has denied serving as a "butler" for the former First Lady's family and her involvement in the investment in IMS Mobility.

Meanwhile, special prosecutors investigating corruption allegations against the former First Lady were deliberating over the charges to press against her after securing a luxury necklace she allegedly accepted in exchange for a personnel appointment favour, legal sources said on Sunday.

Last week, special counsel Min Joong-ki's team said Seohee Construction officials submitted the Van Cleef and Arpels necklace and confessed to gifting the item to Kim right after her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was elected in March 2022, seeking a government job for the company chairman's son-in-law.

The son-in-law, a former prosecutor, was appointed as the chief of staff for then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo three months later.

Kim has reportedly denied the allegation, arguing that the necklace she wore during a 2022 trip to Europe was not authentic.

Given the evidence, special prosecutors could press charges of bribery through mediation against Kim, considering that she did not hold any public office and did not have any authority to make any personnel appointments.

Under the law, bribery charges apply to people typically holding public office who provide a benefit in exchange for the bribe, compared with bribery through mediation, when a third party is involved to facilitate the transaction.

In order to apply bribery charges, special prosecutors would need to prove that Yoon himself accepted the necklace, placing Kim as an accomplice in the case.

--IANS

int/akl/vd