Kim Gun-hee, a former first lady, is facing growing controversy over receiving questioning in a location other than the prosecutor’s office. Amid intensifying political debates over this issue, the Blue House has repeatedly stated that the allegations of favoritism are excessive.
Reporter Lee Han-seok will report.
The Blue House stated that it is inappropriate to comment on ongoing investigations since the revelation of Kim Gun-hee being questioned by the prosecution. They only mentioned that Kim’s legal representative will clarify the position if necessary.
This is seen as an intention to prevent controversies that suggest interference with the prosecution’s investigation and to avoid giving the opposition parties an excuse to attack.
Despite Prosecutor General Lim Won-seok’s remarks that principles were not upheld, they emphasized that it is an internal matter of the prosecution and drew a line.
There is an expectation that through this investigation, any legal risks regarding Kim Gun-hee will be addressed. However, they are sensitive to the term “favoritism.”
A Blue House official reiterated that there is no precedent for a sitting first lady being summoned to the prosecution for a face-to-face interrogation and that the allegations of favoritism are excessive. After undergoing two written examinations, she was subjected to a 12-hour direct investigation, demonstrating full compliance with the prosecution’s demands.
The closed-door investigation took into account the precedent of former First Lady Kwon Yang-sook during the 2009 Park Yeon-cha Gate investigation, and the choice of a third location was inevitable due to security concerns and was pre-arranged with the prosecution.
The Democratic Party criticized that this investigation only stacked up the justification for a special prosecutor.
(Jeong Cheong-rae/Democratic Party’s Chief Minister: Since when have prosecutors been service staff on business trips? Are Korean prosecutors becoming buffet chefs on business trips?)
The People Power Party was hit with criticism to stop the unfounded political attacks.
(Jeong Jeom-sik/Head of Policy Committee of People Power Party: In 2012, when the prosecution investigated the incumbent speaker of the National Assembly, there was a case where the investigation was conducted at the National Assembly instead of the prosecutor’s office considering the respect for the incumbent speaker.)
The possibility of disagreement between the Prosecutor General and the investigation team remains regarding the conclusion of the investigation of Kim Gun-hee, so it remains to be seen whether the silence of the Blue House will continue.
(Video Reporting: Lee Byung-joo, Choi Jun-sik, Video Editing: Staffyang)
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[Link to Original Article: https://news.sbs.co.kr/n/?id=N1007732494]
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[Link to Original Article: https://news.sbs.co.kr/n/?id=N1007732495]