Baek Eun-jong to Investigate 'Kim Gun-hee' for 9 hours

Baek Eun-jong, CEO of Seoul Voice, who reported and accused Yoon Suk Yeol's wife Kim Gun-hee of accepting luxury bags, was questioned by the prosecution for about nine hours on Tuesday. This is the first investigation into Kim's case since Lee Chang-soo was appointed as chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office called in Baek as a whistleblower from 2 p.m. on the day to investigate him. Prosecutors are said to have questioned him on how he reported on and reported on suspicions about luxury bags and the purpose of the accusation.

CEO Baek reportedly submitted to the prosecution a 30-minute video containing the process of delivering luxury bags and a Kakao Talk conversation in June 2022 in which Pastor Choi Jae-young asked Kim to appoint a third party.

CEO Baek told reporters on his way home from the investigation at 10:40 p.m., "I clearly stated who (the person who requested) and what position I asked for."

However, he declined to comment on the details of the request and whether the request was successful, saying, "We will not disclose it yet in consideration of the impact because it is not just one thing, but there is another."

Lawyer Yang Tae-jung, who represents CEO Baek, said that Pastor Choi's request for Kim's personnel appointment was "a significant influential figure."

Representative Baek also said that Kim "reacted" to Pastor Choi's request message while attending the prosecution earlier.

Referring to Kim as "Kim Gun-hee," he said, "I received everything I gave before or after the request. Unless you have been addicted to gift-like bribery for a long time, you can't do that."

Representative Baek said that Pastor Choi's invitation to a presidential inauguration dinner or Pastor Choi's brother's gift for Chuseok can be seen as a case of successful request, and that the gift was also submitted to the prosecution.

In addition, it is said that Pastor Choi provided the prosecution with the personal information of the employee who guided visitors with gifts, including Pastor Choi, to Kim, a one- or two-page A4 memo that recorded the sighting of the "request for financial committee members" while interviewing Mrs. Kim for about 2 hours and 40 minutes in June 2022.

However, Pastor Choi explained that he refused the prosecution's request to submit the entire Kakao Talk conversation he exchanged with Mrs. Kim.

"Since we gave evidence and talked about the circumstances, we will summon Kim Gun-hee for questioning and submit more evidence during cross-examination," Baek said. "We can give full evidence depending on the attitude of the prosecution, report it through the media, or give it to the opposition party as special investigation materials."

Prior to his appearance at the prosecution, Baek also filed an additional complaint against President Yoon and his wife at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

In addition to luxury bags, Mrs. Kim is also asked to investigate four charges: receiving luxury cosmetics and perfumes worth 1.8 million won and liquor worth 400,000 won, receiving gifts from waiting people for the Buddha statue in front of the Covana Content office, intervening in personnel affairs and abusing authority in relation to "recommendation for personnel appointment of financial committee members," and destroying evidence by a presidential office official regarding the designation of luxury bags as presidential records.

The prosecution also tried to investigate additional accusations against CEO Baek, but CEO Baek reportedly said he would first watch the investigation and then separately investigate the accuser next month.

On the 21st, the prosecution will call in Kwon Sung-hee, a lawyer who claims to have picked up a book that Pastor Choi is believed to have given to Kim, as a reference.

The prosecution is expected to decide whether and how to investigate Kim after analyzing the statements and evidence of Pastor Choi, CEO Baek, and other witnesses.

However, there is also a possibility that the prosecution's middle-level officials scheduled for the end of this month will be a variable in the speed of the investigation.

Date: 2024-05-21

Reporter: 서화목