In the first trial, a partial acquittal and partial dismissal of indictment were handed down to Kim Ye-seong, known as "Kim Keon-hee's butler," who was detained and indicted on embezzlement charges by the special counsel investigating allegations related to Kim Keon-hee (Special Counsel Min Joong-ki).
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26 (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-gyeong) on the 9th delivered a verdict of partial acquittal and partial dismissal of indictment for Kim, who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement) and occupational embezzlement. A dismissal of indictment treats the filing itself as invalid when formal procedural requirements are not met and ends the case without judging the merits. Following the first-instance ruling, Kim, who had been held in a detention center, began release procedures. The special counsel had previously sought eight years in prison and a forfeiture of 432.33 million won.
The court found Kim not guilty of colluding with Jo Young-tak, CEO of IMS Mobility, to embezzle 2.43 billion won from a shell company, InnoBest Korea. The special counsel argued that in 2023, ahead of an investment round for IMS Mobility, when a particular company cut its investment from 5 billion won to 3.5 billion won and the fund's formation faced collapse, CEO Jo covered the shortfall with personal debt. After the investment was finalized and 4.6 billion won in proceeds from the sale of IMS Mobility's old shares flowed into InnoBest Korea, Kim allegedly sent 2.43 billion won to Jo in two transfers in June and July 2023 to help repay the debt, which the special counsel framed as embezzlement.
However, the court said, "Even under the special counsel's account, by borrowing 1.5 billion won to make the investment happen, CEO Jo enabled InnoBest Korea to realize an economic benefit by selling worthless Be My Car (the predecessor of IMS Mobility) shares for 4.6 billion won," adding, "It is difficult to isolate only the portion of the Be My Car share proceeds given to CEO Jo and conclude it was embezzlement."
For the remaining counts, the court dismissed the indictment, saying they were not within the investigative scope under the special counsel law. The dismissed counts included allegations that Kim and CEO Jo fabricated sham intercompany services to embezzle 500 million won; that Kim used a little over 900 million won from InnoBest Korea for children's education and other expenses; that Kim colluded with spouse Jeong to embezzle Be My Car funds; and that Kim paid Be My Car funds to the mother and to Jeong under the pretense of salaries and other items. The court noted, "The investigations do not appear to have originated from connections with Ms. Kim, they are unrelated to investment funds that are a key investigative focus of the allegations, and the time frame of the offenses is broad," adding, "It is difficult to deem them 'related crimes' under the special counsel law merely because the defendant is the same or because a company owned by the defendant was the embezzlement victim."
Immediately after the sentencing, Kim's attorney said, "This is a determination that should have been made at the warrant stage," adding, "It is fortunate that the court has imposed control over the scope of the investigation, even now."
Kim was detained and indicted in August last year on charges of embezzling corporate funds with CEO Jo and others. The special counsel calculated Kim's total embezzlement at 4.84723 billion won and separately calculated CEO Jo's embezzlement, indicted in a separate case, at a little over 3.57 billion won. The special counsel also investigated whether Ms. Kim was behind IMS Mobility—then in a capital impairment—securing 18.4 billion won in investment from Kakao Mobility and others, but did not establish any connection with Ms. Kim.