The special counsel team, led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, has successfully secured an arrest warrant for Kim Keon-hee, officially beginning a full-scale investigation into alleged government interference. This arrest is seen as a significant first step toward thoroughly uncovering allegations that Kim, an unelected individual, used her status as the spouse of the President to pursue private interests and meddle in state affairs and personnel appointments.
With Kim's arrest, the special counsel team plans to focus on supplementary investigations to prepare for her indictment. The charges currently against Kim include the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation, receiving free public opinion surveys, and accepting favors and money from the Unification Church—cases for which evidence was already secured through previous prosecutorial investigations. The special counsel team is now focused on obtaining additional statements and evidence to draft the indictment for these charges.
However, there is a high possibility that more charges will be added at the time of Kim's indictment. In particular, the special counsel team is expected to expedite its investigation into allegations of Kim receiving expensive jewelry, such as a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, which was mentioned during her pre-arrest questioning. The team has secured a confession from Seohee Construction stating that a necklace was delivered to Kim shortly after the presidential election, and they have also detected circumstances suggesting she received an expensive Vacheron Constantin watch from a businessman named Seo. If these gifts were given in exchange for personnel favors, it would be a key piece of evidence supporting the allegations that Kim used her status as the presidential spouse to pursue private interests and interfere in government appointments.
The special counsel team plans to look into all aspects of Kim's alleged involvement in state affairs. A top priority is to investigate allegations that she colluded with former President Yoon to meddle in the nominations of the People Power Party. In a media interview, Myung Tae-kyun claimed, "When Kim was forming the presidential campaign, she and her husband agreed to split personnel and nomination rights 50/50." Given that the phrase "you have to be on Kim's good side" has been widely circulated throughout the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, whether illegal deals or interference occurred will be a major focus of the special counsel investigation.
Additionally, the special counsel will investigate the possibility that key policies of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration were influenced by Kim's personal interests. Representative examples include the controversial change to the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway route, the relocation of the presidential office and residence to Yongsan, and the unexpected visit to Ukraine in 2023. If the expressway route was changed to benefit Kim's family rather than for economic viability, it could constitute a serious act of breach of trust. The special counsel team will also need to thoroughly investigate suspicions that companies connected to Kim received special favors during the Yongsan relocation and that the Yoon couple's visit to Ukraine was linked to Sambu Engineering & Construction, a company associated with reconstruction theme stocks.
The special counsel is also paying close attention to circumstances where companies allegedly provided benefits to Kim or her close associates in exchange for special treatment. A prime example is the suspicion that large corporations made "solicitation-based" investments in IMS Mobility, a company related to Kim Ye-sung, who is known to be a close associate of Kim. Some of the companies that invested are suspected of having avoided investigations or sanctions from the Fair Trade Commission. Allegations that large corporations under investigation by Yoon during his time as a prosecutor sponsored Kovana Contents, a company run by Kim, are also areas that require a full investigation by the special counsel.
The special counsel team plans to investigate a wide range of new cases that have been brought to their attention, even those not explicitly mentioned in the special counsel act. The goal is to uncover the truth behind allegations that have been raised but not properly investigated, such as private interference during overseas trips and widespread meddling in diplomacy, policy, and personnel matters. The team will also focus on allegations that investigations into Kim were halted due to interference from former President Yoon and others.
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