The special counsel said on the 3rd it plans to summon former President Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee within this month in connection with the alleged receipt of jewelry.
At a regular briefing that day, the special counsel said it plans to set and notify a summons date for Kim Keon-hee within this month in connection with the case of alleged receipt of jewelry under the pretext of personnel solicitation, among others. It added it plans to carry out the same procedure for former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The special counsel is said to plan to question Kim first and then summon the former president. The special counsel said it was informing of the plan to notify Kim Keon-hee of the summons investigation and added it plans to summon and question the former president within the investigation period.
The special counsel also said it intends to investigate all necessary matters, including what it had tried to look into last time for the former president. Earlier, the special counsel attempted twice, on Aug., to execute an arrest warrant for the former president, but it fell through when the former president did not comply.
Meanwhile, the special counsel plans to summon former National Education Commission Chairperson Lee Bae-yong as a reference witness at 10 a.m. on the 6th. The special counsel had summoned the former Chairperson on the 13th and 20th of last month, but the former Chairperson failed to appear, citing health reasons.
The alleged receipt of jewelry concerns claims that the former Chairperson handed a gold turtle and other items to Kim early in the former president's term to solicit personnel favors. The special counsel suspects the former Chairperson handed Kim Keon-hee a 5-don gold turtle and a congratulatory card as a post-election gift in Mar. 2022. The former Chairperson was appointed the inaugural Chairperson of the National Education Commission, launched under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, in Sept. of that year.