Seoul central prosecutors interrogate First Lady, not informing prosecutor general

The prosecution on Saturday had a face-to-face interrogation of First Lady Kim Keon Hee for allegedly getting involved in the Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation case and receiving a Christian Dior bag not at a prosecutor’s office but at an undisclosed place. Prosecutor General Lee One-seok was not aware of any details of the interrogation until he got belatedly briefed by the investigation team around the time the interrogation was over. There will likely be much controversy over the prosecutor general excluded from the interrogative reporting process as rumor is escalating that there is discord between the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office currently in charge of the investigation and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

On Sunday, the Criminal Division I and Anti-corruption Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced that prosecutors interrogated First Lady Kim at a confidential government building in the jurisdiction. They interrogated her for 11 hours and 50 minutes from 1:30 p.m. on Saturday to 1:20 a.m. the next day.

Based on The Dong-A Ilbo’s coverage combined, the venue in question turned out to be one of the governmental facilities in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The prosecution reportedly chose one of the security facilities currently not in use. Explaining why the investigation was done not at a prosecutor’s office but at this undisclosed facility, a central district insider said, “It was a decision made based on agreement with the first lady’s aides due to security and safety issues.” It was reported that the venue and time of investigation were decided late on Friday.

Right after the central district prosecutors’ office disclosed the news on Sunday morning, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office told the press that not only the prosecutor general but also senior officials did not get briefed at all in advance, adding that not until the interrogation was almost finished did the central district prosecutors’ office give a follow-up report. Some point out the investigation team did not report to the prosecutor general in a timely manner. However, others say that it may have delayed the briefing considering that Prosecutor General Lee is excluded from commanding investigations over the Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation case.

Based on interrogative results, the prosecution will determine how to handle her allegations over stock price manipulation and acceptance of a Dior bag. Given that related individuals have been investigated to some considerable degree, experts see that the following steps to take regarding the First Lady will soon be decided. “First Lady Kim stated the facts faithfully over the interrogation,” said Choi Ji-woo, a lawyer representing Kim.


박종민 blick@donga.com