Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team, investigating allegations related to Kim Keon-hee, has decided to summon Jo, the representative of IMS Mobility, one of the key figures in the so-called 'butler gate,' again after 18 days.
The special prosecutor's team notified Jo to appear as a suspect at the office set up in the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 20th at 10 a.m. It is reported that allegations of embezzlement under the Specific Economic Crime Aggravated Punishment Act have been applied to Jo.
When Jo was first investigated by the special prosecutor's team on the 2nd, he was a suspect under allegations of business breach of trust. The core of the butler gate is the suspicion that IMS Mobility, where Kim Ye-seong, known as the butler of Kim Keon-hee's family, participated in its establishment and held equity, received 18.4 billion won unfairly from Kakao, Shinhan Bank, and others in 2023.
At the time of the investment, IMS Mobility had liabilities (1.414 trillion won) that exceeded its net worth (56.6 billion won), putting it in a state of capital erosion. The special prosecutor's team suspects that the investors provided what could be interpreted as insurance or compensation funds, considering their connections to Kim and Kim Keon-hee.
Of the investment funds attracted by IMS Mobility, 4.6 billion won was used to purchase shares previously held by Innovest Korea, a venture firm that acquired them from Kim. Innovest Korea is reported to be a company owned by Kim.
Kim's side clarified that among the 4.6 billion won, about 2.4 billion won was lent to Jo in the name of Innovest Korea and 1.1 billion won in his personal name. Kim was arrested on the 15th on charges of embezzling a total of 3.38 billion won.
The special prosecutor's team plans to focus on investigating the background of how IMS Mobility was able to attract a large amount of investment despite its difficult circumstances.