Special counsel assigns 40 prosecutors to investigate former first lady

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Special counsel assigns 40 prosecutors to investigate former first lady

Published: 23 Jun. 2025, 18:44

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki speaks to reporters while heading into the temporary offices of the special prosecution team investigating former first lady Kim Keon Hee in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on June 23. [NEWS1]

Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who is leading the investigation into former first lady Kim Keon Hee, completed requests on Monday to dispatch 40 prosecutors to participate in the probe.

The special counsel is reportedly considering dividing the team into eight investigation units, with each unit handling two cases.

“We have completed requests for the dispatch of 40 prosecutors, including eight senior prosecutors and 32 rank-and-file prosecutors, and have submitted requests to relevant agencies,” said a member of the special counsel’s team on Monday.

The agencies mentioned include the Korea Exchange, for which two dispatches have been requested, and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, for which three have been requested.

The Korea Exchange detected suspicious trading related to Sambo Construction — one of the targets of the special investigation — in July last year, and handed the relevant materials over to the Financial Supervisory Service in September.

The special counsel is reportedly considering assigning the 16 allegations under investigation to eight separate teams, with each team handling two cases. Each special prosecutor assistant, including Kim Hyeong-geun, Park Sang-jin, Oh Jung-hee and Moon Hong-joo, would oversee the two teams and supervise the assigned investigations.

From left, Kim Hyeong-geun, Park Sang-jin, Moon Hong-joo and Oh Jung-hee [YONHAP]

Given the large number and scope of the cases, the idea is to assign each special prosecutor assistant a set of cases for closer oversight — a structure similar to that used in the 2016 special investigation into Choi Soon-sil.

On-the-ground supervision of each case will be led by the senior prosecutors already familiar with the cases from their time at the prosecutors’ office.

Among the first wave of dispatches is Chae Hee-man, head of the second anticorruption division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, who was part of the reporting line for the probe into Jeon Seong-bae, the shaman known as Geonjin, currently handled by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office.

Han Moon-hyuk, head of Criminal Division 5 at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, previously led the probe into alleged stock manipulation at Deutsch Motors. In Hoon, from the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office’s Criminal Division 5, handled the Myung Tae-kyun case and is known as a veteran of public security investigations.

Although the special counsel has requested 40 prosecutors, the actual number dispatched may vary due to individual refusals or overlaps with requests from other concurrent special counsel cases — including Jo Eun-seok's insurrection case or Lee Myung-hyun's Marine death case.

It was confirmed that some prosecutors listed in Min’s second dispatch request submitted on Friday overlapped with those requested by the insurrection special counsel and that the two teams reportedly adjusted their lists through consultation. Coordination with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is still ongoing.

On the same day, the special counsel began full-scale interior renovations for its office in the KT Gwanghwamun West Building in Jongno District, central Seoul, with a target move-in date of July 1.

The special counsel team recently finalized the layout for the 13th floor, which will be used as its official office. Work has begun to separate the spaces designated for each investigation team, with waiting rooms for individuals under questioning and rooms equipped for video recording. Once the spatial division is complete, desks, computers and other office equipment will be installed to finalize the setup.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY YANG SU-MIN [[email protected]]