It is reported that Kim Mo, the son of actress Lee Ji Ah's father, the late Kim Soon Heung, who is classified as a pro-Japanese collaborator, is engaged in a legal battle with his siblings.
According to The Fact on the 19th, Kim is accused of forging a power of attorney using the seals of his older brother and sister during the process of repurchasing land worth approximately 35 billion won left by Kim Soon Heung.
Kim is said to have previously been sentenced to prison for charges including forgery of private documents and fraud.
A, a cousin of Lee Ji Ah and niece of Kim, explained that conflicts began between her and Kim during the process of repurchasing land in Seoksu-dong, Manan-gu, Anyang, which had been expropriated for military use. This land was utilized until 2013, before the military base was transferred to Ansan. Subsequently, the Ministry of National Defense granted priority repurchase rights to the descendants of Kim Soon Heung, who was the owner.
The children of Kim Soon Heung attempted to transfer ownership of the land and promote a development project. However, during this process, a contract worth approximately 16.9 billion won was drawn up with a company that the siblings were unaware of, and A claims that Kim's seal was affixed to the contract as "landowner representative and proxy."
Other siblings, excluding the late Kim Soon Heung's eldest son, stated that they never appointed Kim as the landowner representative. They claim they only discovered this fact after an auction application was filed for the land in May 2019.
The siblings filed a lawsuit in November 2020, claiming that Kim had no authority as the landowner representative, but during the lawsuit in March 2021, they first became aware of an existence of a power of attorney that stated "the landowners appoint Kim as their representative" through documents submitted by Kim's side.
The siblings filed a complaint against Kim for forgery of private documents, but police found no grounds for the charges twice. After being transferred to the prosecution for supplementary investigation orders, Kim received an "innocent" disposition on the 7th.
A's side believes that the prosecution, feeling pressure as the statute of limitations approaches, issued an innocent disposition and plans to seek a retrial in court and continue the legal battle.
They also disclosed Kim's record of forgery of private documents. Kim was fined after he forged A's name and signature to apply for a public utility complaint to cut down 20 oak trees on land owned by A. A filed a lawsuit against Kim in July 2022, and the Suwon District Court, Anyang Branch, recognized the charges of forgery of private documents on November 1, 2022, and imposed a fine of 3 million won on Kim.
A claimed that Kim has a history of being sentenced to prison three times for forgery of private documents and fraud since 1998.
Kim told The Fact, "I did use the legal seal and certificate received through proper procedures to execute the power of attorney," and added, "I don't understand why this is happening since I have been investigated thoroughly." He also stated the allegation of forging private documents using A's name was due to his sister's instructions.
In December 2011, Jeong Dae-cheol, then a senior adviser to the Democratic Party, described Lee Ji Ah's family as affluent and a prestigious family that has conducted education projects for generations.
At that time, Lee Ji Ah's agency stated, "Her grandfather, Kim Soon Hong, was a wealthy man who amassed considerable wealth by running a silk store, and in 1976, donated land in Pyeongchang-dong to the Seoul Arts High School and supported underprivileged students," adding, "Jeong Dae-cheol maintained a special connection with Lee Ji Ah's family for over 40 years."
However, controversy arose when it was revealed that Kim Soon Heung had made large donations to defense-related organizations for Japanese imperialism and appeared on a draft list of pro-Japanese collaborators targeted for purge by Kim Gu and the provisional government.