The comprehensive special counsel moved to secure the custody of former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-gi and others in connection with allegations of favoritism in the transfer construction of the presidential residence under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
The comprehensive special counsel said in a media notice on the 19th that it had sought arrest warrants on charges of abuse of authority for former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim, former Senior Secretary for General Affairs Yoon Jae-soon, and former Secretary for Facilities Management Kim Oh-jin.
The comprehensive special counsel is said to believe that, during the 2022 transfer construction of the presidential residence, the Presidential Secretariat intervened to pay construction costs to 21gram, a company that had a close relationship with first lady Kim Keon-hee.
The comprehensive special counsel said, "Through our investigation to date, we confirmed that, despite pushback from the relevant ministries, the budget of the Government Complex Management Headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which has nothing to do with the presidential residence, was illegally diverted under the suspects' orders," and added, "Taking into comprehensive account the gravity of the crime, the risk of evidence destruction, and the need for further investigation, we sought arrest warrants."
Meanwhile, Lee Eun-woo, former head of Korea TV (KTV), for whom the comprehensive special counsel first sought an arrest warrant, is set to undergo a pretrial detention hearing (warrant review) on the 21st. Lee is accused of promoting insurrection in connection with the Dec. 3 martial law declaration.