An assistant special counsel in charge of the investigation into former first lady Kim Keon Hee’s various allegations speaks in a media briefing in Seoul on July 8, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team investigating various allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee said Friday that an allegedly fugitive man known as her business associate should immediately return from abroad and undergo investigation.
The 48-year-old man, named Kim Ye-seong, who is often dubbed the butler of the former first lady’s family, has not returned home after leaving the country in April this year amid suspicions that he had received 18 billion won (US$13.1 million) in dubious investments from several companies through his rental car company IMS in 2023.
There have been press reports that Kim would voluntarily return to Korea to face questioning by the special counsel team.
But Assistant Special Prosecutor Moon Hong-ju said that the special counsel team has never received any message from him regarding his intention to return home.
“If Kim’s reported remarks are true, he is supposed to convey his intentions to the special counsel, not to the media,” Moon said in a media briefing, promising to conduct the investigation in accordance with the laws and due procedures.
(Yonhap)
