**Despite Dismissal of ‘Special Activity Fund Use Allegations,’ Prosecutors Determine Need for Re-investigation After Reviewing Records**
The allegations regarding the use of special activity funds for clothing purchases by Kim Jung-sook, the wife of former President Moon Jae-in, will be reinvestigated. According to sources on the 3rd, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office requested on October 29th that the police reinvestigate the case involving allegations of embezzlement of state funds under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes related to Mrs. Kim. The prosecution concluded that reinvestigation was necessary after reviewing the case records.
Previously, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police had concluded in July that Mrs. Kim had no charges to answer, leading to a decision not to refer the case to the prosecution. It was alleged that Mrs. Kim purchased over 80 garments during President Moon’s term (2017–2022), with some being paid for with special activity funds from the Blue House. The investigation commenced in March 2022 following complaints from a civic group. Although the police conducted searches at the Presidential Archives and interviewed relevant parties, they determined insufficient evidence linking Mrs. Kim to the misuse of such funds for clothing purchases.
The police confirmed that the payment for the garments in question was made using “kkanbong-gwon” (bundled banknotes guaranteed by the Bank of Korea). However, they could not establish any grounds to conclude that these funds were indeed special activity funds. The non-referral decision report indicated that a staff member in the second annex office had settled Mrs. Kim’s clothing expenses in cash with several clothing manufacturers and vendors, some even paid in bundled banknotes. Yet, the police could not trace the origin of these notes even after verifying with financial institutions, including the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation. Additionally, statements from bank employees confirmed that issuing bundled banknotes on customer request was possible, suggesting these notes were not exclusively used by public institutions like the Blue House. Therefore, the police found insufficient evidence to assert that the clothing payments were made using state budget, including special activity funds from the presidential office.