▲ Kim Dae-ki, former presidential chief of staff, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on May 22, 2026, to attend a hearing on his potential arrest. (Yonhap)

ex-presidential official-arrest warrant

Ex-senior presidential official appears for arrest warrant hearing

SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- A former chief of staff to now-jailed President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared at a court Friday for a hearing on his potential arrest over alleged irregularities in the 2022 relocation of the presidential residence.

Kim Dae-ki is accused of illegally diverting 2.8 billion won (US$1.8 million) from the interior ministry's budget to pay an interior design company for the renovation of the presidential residence during 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.

The former presidential official told reporters that he would "faithfully" explain his position as he arrived at the Seoul Central District Court to attend his arrest warrant hearing.

Former presidential secretary for administrative affairs Yoon Jae-soon and former presidential secretary for general affairs Kim Oh-jin also appeared at the court Friday for separate hearings on their potential arrests over the same allegations.

Special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team filed for arrest warrants for the three former presidential officials Tuesday.

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.

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