The second special prosecutor team, led by Kwon Chang-young, has extended the detention of former presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki and former chief secretary Yoon Jae-soon. They are the first individuals to be detained by the special prosecutors.
According to legal sources on June 1, the special prosecutors requested the court to extend the detention period of Kim and Yoon, who were arrested on charges of abuse of authority, until June 10. Their initial detention period was set to expire on May 31.
The special prosecutors are investigating allegations of illegal diversion of the Ministry of Interior budget related to the presidential residence.
Kim and others are accused of illegally diverting funds from the Ministry of Interior's budget to cover excess construction costs for the relocation of the presidential residence in 2022, paying an unqualified contractor, 21 grams, more than the originally allocated contingency budget.
The special prosecutors believe that Kim and others were involved in diverting 2.8 billion won from the Ministry of Interior's budget. The budget for the residence relocation was set at 1.44 billion won, but the actual construction costs ballooned to 4.116 billion won, prompting the presidential office at the time to pressure the Ministry of Interior to cover the additional expenses.
Previously, on May 22, the special prosecutors successfully secured their first arrests after 86 days of operation, obtaining arrest warrants for Kim and Yoon. Kim O-jin, the former administrative secretary, who was also included in the warrant request, had his warrant denied and continues to be investigated while not in custody.
The special prosecutors are expected to decide on whether to indict Kim and Yoon before the new detention period expires on June 10. They may also take legal action against Lee Sang-min, the former Minister of Interior, who is scheduled to be summoned for questioning on June 4 for similar allegations.
If Kim and Yoon are indicted, the special prosecutors will need to assign at least one dispatched prosecutor to handle the prosecution, which poses a challenge. The maximum investigation period for the special prosecutors is until July 23, and they currently have 12 dispatched prosecutors.
On May 22, the special prosecutors also requested the Ministry of Justice to dispatch three additional prosecutors, but this has not yet been fulfilled.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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