Special counsel raids top prosecution offices over alleged cover-up of ex-first lady's case

▲ The Supreme Prosecutors Office (Yonhap)

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Special counsel raids top prosecution offices over alleged cover-up of ex-first lady's case

SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) -- The second comprehensive special counsel team on Monday raided the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office (SCDPO), signaling a compulsory investigation into allegations that prosecutors intentionally decided not to indict former first lady Kim Keon Hee about two years ago over her suspected involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme.

Team investigators began searching the SPO's Anti-Corruption Divisions 1 and 2, and the SCDPO's Anti-Corruption Division 2 in the morning on suspicion of abuse of power in connection with the latter's decision to drop stock manipulation charges against Kim in October 2024.

Kim was indicted later for conspiring with a former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea, as well as a close associate, to manipulate the company's stock price and make 810 million won (US$536,000) in illegal profits between 2010 and 2012, though a district court recently acquitted her on the charges.

The second comprehensive special counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young was launched last month to investigate 17 allegations that the three previous special counsel teams could not resolve, including the prosecution's suspected attempt to cover up Kim's case.

In a related move, Kwon's team recently booked Lee Chang-soo, former head of the SCDPO, and Cho Sang-won, a former deputy head of the SCDPO, and banned them from leaving the country.

The team reportedly plans to secure the prosecution offices' instructions, communications and investigation materials related to Kim's case.

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