The special investigator team led by Min Jung-ki, which is investigating the allegations surrounding Kim Keon-hee, summoned People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, who is under suspicion of intervening in the nominations of former President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife, and questioned him for nearly 15 hours as a suspect for obstruction of duty.
Lawmaker Yoon arrived at the special prosecutor team's office located in the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno District at about 9:25 a.m. on the 27th. After completing a 14-hour and 45-minute interrogation, he returned home around 12:10 a.m. on the 28th.
When asked whether he ever received a call from former President Yoon regarding the nomination of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun, Yoon replied, "I have given all my statements to the special prosecutor team sincerely and truthfully, so you will understand everything." In response to the question, "Is your position that there was no intervention in the nominations?" he stated, "That will be revealed."
The special prosecutor team is reportedly investigating whether there was any influence from former President Yoon or Kim Keon-hee in the nomination process involving Lawmaker Yoon, who served as the chairman of the People Power Party's nomination management committee during the local elections and re-elections on June 1, 2022, and whether any decisions made were in violation of regulations.
There have been allegations that former President Yoon and his wife intervened to ensure that former lawmaker Kim Young-sun was nominated in the by-elections held in the same year in return for receiving free polling services from political broker Myung Tae-kyun during the presidential election in 2022.
According to the previously released phone call transcript, on May 9, 2022, the day before the People Power Party's nomination announcement for the by-elections, former President Yoon told Myung, "I have been working hard for Kim Young-sun since the primary, so please take care of Kim Young-sun. There's a lot of talk about that in the party." He added, "I will talk to Sang-hyun (Lawmaker Yoon) once more. He is the nomination committee chairman."
The special prosecutor team, which launched the investigation related to this matter, conducted searches of Lawmaker Yoon's National Assembly office, residence, and former lawmaker Kim's home on the 8th. The search warrant at that time cited former President Yoon and his wife, Lawmaker Yoon, and Jeong Jin-seok, the former chief of the presidential office, as suspects.