Seoul: Two former senior judges have joined the special counsel team investigating former first lady Kim Keon Hee's corruption case, the team said Sunday, in a personnel expansion following a revision to the law allowing additional staffing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Park Noh-soo and Kim Kyung-ho, both currently lawyers, were among those shortlisted by special counsel Min Joon-ki's team last week, and their appointments were approved by President Lee Jae Myung. This move comes as part of a strategic personnel expansion, which follows a recent legal revision permitting the addition of more staff to the investigative team.
Two assistant special counsels, including Prosecutor Han Moon-hyeok, who had been leading the investigation into Kim's stock manipulation allegations, are set to return to their positions at the prosecution office. The team indicated that Han's removal was influenced by reports of his previous meeting with Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Blackpearl Invest, a key figure in Kim's stock manipulation case, at a private social gathering in 2021.
Lee has been arrested and indicted over lobbying allegations connected to the case. On Sunday, Han issued a public apology, acknowledging his meeting with Lee in July 2021, two months before Lee was booked over the allegations. Han stated he was unaware at the time of Lee's involvement in the stock manipulation case and has not had any personal contact with him since then.
Min's team did not elaborate on the reasons for Han's replacement, stating only that they had confirmed certain facts that led them to conclude Han was no longer suitable for the position.