Former First Lady’s Associate Questioned in Influence-Peddling Scandal

A special counsel team questioned a key associate of former First Lady Kim Keon Hee on Monday over allegations of influence peddling to secure a suspended prison sentence for a business partner.

The team, led by special counsel Min Joong-ki, summoned Lee Jong-ho, former head of investment firm Blackpearl Invest, to its office in central Seoul, two days after raiding his home and vehicle.

Lee is at the center of multiple cases involving the former first lady, who is the spouse of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.

He is alleged to have received 81 million won ($58,000) from a business associate in exchange for leveraging his connections to Kim to secure a suspended sentence in a stock price manipulation case involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealership in South Korea.

Lee himself is a central figure in a case dating from 2009 to 2012, for which he received a suspended prison sentence due to his involvement.

Investigators believe that the former first lady’s accounts were utilized in the scheme, with Lee allegedly managing those accounts.

Lee is also accused of exploiting his ties to Kim to manipulate stock prices of Sambu Construction Co. in a separate case and to exonerate former Marine commander Lim Seong-geun from responsibility in the 2023 death of a Marine. (Yonhap)