Photo courtesy of Yonhap News

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] The special counsel team led by Prosecutor Min Jung-ki, which is investigating allegations involving South Korea’s First Lady Kim Keon-hee, will conduct a second round of questioning on July 23 of executives from several financial firms implicated in the so-called "Butler Gate" scandal.



In a regular briefing on July 22, Deputy Special Counsel Oh Jung-hee announced that the team plans to summon officials from Shinhan Bank and Gyeongnam Steel at 10 a.m., and JB Woori Capital at 2 p.m. the same day. Jeong Geun-soo, former Vice President of Shinhan Bank and currently Head of CIB at Shinhan Investment Corp., is reportedly expected to appear before the counsel.



Additional witnesses from UNIQ and Jungdong Finance are scheduled to be summoned on July 24 at 10 a.m.



The investigation centers around IMS Mobility (formerly Be My Car), a rental car company allegedly founded and partially owned by Kim Ye-seong, a close associate of the First Lady’s family. The company received KRW 18.4 billion (approx. USD 13.3 million) in investments from Kakao Mobility and other firms in 2023. Allegations suggest that a shell company named Innovest Korea, controlled by Kim Ye-seong, sold shares worth KRW 4.6 billion in IMS to pocket illicit profits.



In an earlier round of questioning, the special counsel had summoned senior decision-makers from Korea Securities Finance, HS Hyosung, Kakao Mobility, and Kiwoom Securities. All appeared for questioning except for HS Hyosung.



The ongoing investigation seeks to determine whether any influence peddling, misuse of confidential information, or illegal transactions took place during the funding and equity transfer processes involving these firms.

 

 

 

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