▲ Former presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki (C) arrives for questioning at special counsel Kwon Chang-young's office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, on May 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

special counsel-former presidential aides

Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for Yoon's ex-chief of staff in Yongsan relocation probe

SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Tuesday sought arrest warrants for three former presidential officials, including a former chief of staff to ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, over alleged irregularities in the 2022 relocation of the presidential residence, legal sources said.

The team led by special counsel Kwon Chang-young filed for warrants to arrest former chief of staff Kim Dae-ki, former presidential secretary for administrative affairs Yoon Jae-soon and former presidential secretary for general affairs Kim Oh-jin. All three served during the previous Yoon administration.

The warrants accuse the three of abusing their power by illegally diverting the state budget to pay an interior design company for the renovation of the presidential residence following its relocation from Cheong Wa Dae to the central Seoul district of Yongsan.

The company, 21 Gram, is suspected of having won the project despite being unqualified, due to its ties with Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, for designing and constructing the office of her content company.

The relocation of the presidential office and residence was one of Yoon's campaign pledges. Incumbent President Lee Jae Myung has returned both to Cheong Wa Dae.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]