The second special counsel referred former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and others to trial on charges of abuse of power in connection with allegations over the transfer of the presidential residence.
The special counsel said on the 9th that former Minister Lee and former presidential management secretary Kim O-jin were indicted without detention, and former presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-gi and former presidential secretary for general affairs Yoon Jae-soon were indicted under arrest. They are accused of abuse of power to obstruct the exercise of rights.
According to the special counsel, former Minister Lee and others are accused of obstructing civil servants' exercise of budget and accounting authority by ordering civil servants at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) Government Complex Management Headquarters and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (now the Ministry of Planning and Budget) to illegally divert a 2.09 billion won budget to pay about 4.1 billion won in construction estimates demanded by 21 Gram, an interior firm not qualified to work on the presidential residence.
Former presidential management secretary Kim O-jin is also accused of falsely drafting and issuing an official cooperation request in the name of the presidential office as if promoting a separate remodeling project for an annex to secure additional funds.
The special counsel said, "The defendants ignored opposition from civil servants at the relevant agencies and ordered the illegal budget diversion, while arranging things to appear as though each agency independently decided to divert the budget to evade responsibility," and added, "In the process, they also confirmed that the public was deceived by announcing externally that the work would be completed 'within the reserve funds.'"
In particular, it was found that the director in charge at the Government Complex Management Headquarters who resisted the illegal budget diversion faced personnel disadvantages.
The special counsel said it is currently conducting additional investigations into collusion and other matters related to the illegal budget diversion. The special counsel said, "During the remaining investigation period, we will uncover the full picture of the public suspicions raised regarding the presidential residence."