Seoul: A special counsel team on Thursday requested an arrest warrant for an associate of former first lady Kim Keon Hee on charges of embezzlement. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team revealed the request in a notice to the press, two days after Kim Ye-seong, known as the "butler" of the former first lady's family, was detained by investigators upon returning from Vietnam.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Ye-seong is suspected of receiving 18.4 billion won (US$13.2 million) in illegal investments from several companies, including Kakao Mobility Corp., for IMS Mobility, a company he helped establish in 2023. Considering that IMS Mobility was effectively in a state of capital impairment at the time of the investments, the special prosecutors suspect the companies invested in IMS Mobility due to its connection to Kim and the former first lady.
Kim left South Korea for Vietnam in April, in what investigators believe was an attempt to flee following the ouster of then President Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Keon Hee's husband. After he ignored the special counsel's summonses to appear for questioning, the team sought to place him on the Interpol Red Notice wanted list and banned his wife from leaving the country.
Kim Ye-seong has denied any wrongdoing and described the special counsel's investigation as a "witch hunt." He has been closely associated with the former first lady for over a decade and is believed to have extensive knowledge of the family's financial matters.