▲ Former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong
The Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Team, led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating cases remaining after the three major special counsel probes (insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, and the Marine Corps death case), has summoned a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official who was in charge of the working-level tasks related to the allegations of route changes for the Yangpyeong Expressway.
The special counsel team has been questioning the official, a secretary-general (Seogwan) at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport surnamed Kim, as a witness since around 10:00 a.m. today (June 15).
Secretary-general Kim was responsible for the working-level tasks regarding the route change for the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway at the ministry. The special counsel team plans to verify whether "higher-ups," including former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, were involved.
Previously, the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki indicted Secretary-general Kim in December of last year on charges including abuse of power, alleging that he pressured a consulting firm to change the highway's terminus to Gangsang-myeon, where land owned by First Lady Kim Keon-hee is concentrated. The first trial is currently underway.
The Min Joong-ki special counsel team concluded that Secretary-general Kim had been instructed to change the route terminus by an official from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's transition committee, but they were unable to identify those higher up in the chain of command.
Secretary-general Kim has consistently denied the charges throughout his trial.
The comprehensive special counsel team, which took over the case, imposed a travel ban on former Minister Won in March and has consecutively summoned Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport officials, including former Second Vice Minister Baek Won-guk and a division director surnamed Kim.
During the investigation by the Min Joong-ki special counsel team, circumstances emerged suggesting that Secretary-general Kim had received 36 million won in bribes from the head of a consulting firm. He was indicted while under arrest for bribery in September of last year, but the first and second courts dismissed the charges, ruling that the case did not fall under the scope of the special counsel's investigation. The case is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.