The court declined the pre-arrest warrants for Jo Young-tak, CEO of IMS Mobility, and other individuals involved in the ‘Kim Gun-hee caretaker gate’ allegations, stating that there was insufficient evidence of concerns regarding evidence destruction or flight risk. Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team, which is investigating allegations related to former President Yoon Seok-yeol’s wife, Kim Gun-hee, filed for these warrants. However, Judge Park Jung-ho of the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the warrants, citing inadequate justification for the necessity of detention or concerns about flight or evidence tampering.
The ‘caretaker gate’ refers to suspicions that IMS Mobility, a rental car company partly established and owned by Kim Ye-seong (already charged), identified as a caretaker for Kim’s family, received unjust investments totaling 18.4 billion KRW from private equity firm Oasis Equity Partners, Kakao Mobility, HS Hyosung, and Shinhan Bank. The special prosecutor’s team suspects these investments were influenced by personal connections to Kim and Kim Gun-hee, serving as a form of insurance or compensation.