Seoul: A special counsel team executed raids at the national police agency and the residences and offices of both current and former lawmakers as part of an ongoing investigation into corruption allegations linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee, legal sources have revealed. The probe is focused on potential misconduct involving the former first lady and possible interference in police investigations.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the special counsel team stated that a search warrant was issued to obtain necessary materials from the Korean National Police Agency in collaboration with the agency. Additionally, prosecutors were sent to a police station in Chuncheon, located approximately 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, to perform search and seizure operations in order to secure records pertaining to alleged overseas gambling activities by leaders of the Unification Church.
The investigation is centered on accusations that the Unification Church, after becoming aware of a police inquiry, attempted to lobby influential individuals close to former President Yoon Suk Yeol to disrupt the investigation. In June 2022, an investigation was initiated by Chuncheon Police Station regarding suspicions that church leader Han Hak-ja and senior executives engaged in gambling activities totaling about 60 billion won (US$44 million) at casinos in Las Vegas between 2008 and 2011. Allegations have surfaced that the church obtained details about the investigation and that the probe was subsequently stifled with assistance from "pro-Yoon" individuals.
The special counsel's investigation aims to determine whether the church was informed of the police inquiry and if it attempted to obstruct it through lobbying efforts. Earlier in the day, the counsel team searched the office and home of main opposition People Power Party (PPP) Representative Yoon Sang-hyun in Seoul, as well as the residence of former PPP Representative Kim Young-sun in Changwon, according to sources. Additionally, the home of former prosecutor Kim Sang-min was also searched.
These raids form part of special counsel Min Joong-ki's broader investigation into allegations that the former first lady, spouse of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, influenced the PPP's candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections and the upcoming 2024 general elections. Former President Yoon is also suspected of involvement in the 2022 elections, following a disclosed phone call from May 2022, where he allegedly suggested to power broker Myung Tae-kyun that Rep. Yoon should ensure Kim Young-sun's nomination for a district during the 2022 parliamentary by-elections. Furthermore, the former first lady is suspected of attempting to secure the former prosecutor's nomination for the district previously secured by Kim Young-sun in the 2024 general elections.