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 in consideration of its connection to Kim and the former first lady.
The special counsel team, however, sought the warrant on a separate charge involving embezzling money from his company. The Seoul Central District Court will hold an arrest warrant hearing for Kim at 2 p.m. Friday.
Kim had 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 snubbed 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.