The special investigation team is conducting a search and seizure of a civil servant surnamed Kim at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regarding the 'allegations of preferential treatment in changing the endpoint of the Yangpyeong Expressway' on the 2nd.
In a media announcement that day, the special investigation team noted, 'Today (22nd), we are conducting search and seizure operations at five locations, including the residence and workplace of civil servant Kim from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, in connection with the allegations surrounding the endpoint change of the Yangpyeong Expressway.' Civil servant Kim is currently reported to be working at the Wonju Regional Land Management Office.
The allegations of preferential treatment in changing the endpoint of the Yangpyeong Expressway suggest that Kim Keon-hee and her family improperly intervened in the process of altering the route of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway. It is claimed that in May 2023, the year following the establishment of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the endpoint of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway was suddenly changed from Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun to Gangsan-myeon, where 28 parcels of land (22,663 square meters) owned by Kim Keon-hee's family are located.
The original plan for the endpoint route in Yangseo-myeon passed the preliminary feasibility study in 2021, but suspicions arose when the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport suddenly began reviewing the endpoint route in Gangsan-myeon, where Kim Keon-hee's family's land is located, in May 2023.
Civil servant Kim is known to have been responsible for the project as the Director of the Road Policy Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport during the push for the Yangpyeong Expressway.