The second comprehensive special counsel team imposed an overseas travel ban on former presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-gi and former presidential secretary for general affairs Yoon Jae-soon and launched searches and seizures of their homes in connection with alleged corruption in the presidential residence construction during former President Yoon Suk-yeol's tenure. They said they confirmed indications that administrative ministry budgets were illegally diverted to an unqualified company and that these two were involved.
On Apr. 7, the second special counsel said at a media briefing, "In addition to suspicions over proceeding with construction after a contractor change related to the presidential residence project, we confirmed that an unqualified company submitted an estimate without objective grounds such as blueprints and demanded the state pay construction costs."
It added, "We also confirmed specific indications that, under instructions from the presidential office, administrative ministry budgets were executed while skipping procedures such as verification to pay this estimated amount."
In this regard, it said searches and seizures are underway not only at the homes of the former chief of staff Kim and former secretary Yoon, but also at the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. It also said overseas travel bans were imposed on the former chief of staff Kim and former secretary Yoon.
The alleged corruption in the residence construction centers on claims that an unqualified company, "21gram," unfairly won the project by leveraging acquaintances with first lady Kim Keon-hee.
The second special counsel said it also conducted searches and seizures of the residence and other locations of a former Presidential Security Service employee, a person surnamed Yang. Yang, a former aide-de-camp to former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, is suspected of destroying on Dec. 5, 2024, a laptop that the former minister had used. The special counsel said it launched the searches and seizures to determine the whereabouts of the laptop.