Is the Former First Lady’s Influence Behind a $13 Million Investment Mystery?

An heir to a prominent South Korean conglomerate, Hyosung Group, is set to face questioning next week by a special counsel investigating corruption allegations linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee, officials announced.

Cho Hyun-sang, vice chairman of HS Hyosung, has agreed to meet with investigators on Monday, according to officials from special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team. Cho is being called in as a person of interest, not a suspect at this stage.

Min’s team is probing allegations that a man surnamed Kim, who served as a butler for the former first lady’s family, received questionable investments totaling 18 billion KRW (approximately $13 million) in 2023 for his rental car company, IMS. These investments reportedly came from several firms, including Kakao Mobility Corp.

The special counsel suspects these companies made the investments due to the butler’s close ties to the former first lady. Investigators are also examining whether the funds were potentially funneled to the former first lady as off-the-books money.

Cho is one of several business figures the special counsel plans to summon. The timing of Cho’s appearance was arranged to accommodate his ongoing business trip to Vietnam, which concludes at the end of this week.

While these individuals are initially being brought in as persons of interest, their status could potentially change to suspects as the investigation progresses. The list of those to be questioned also includes Kakao founder Kim Beom-su.

Addressing media reports that Kim cited health reasons for declining to appear for questioning scheduled for Thursday, the special counsel stated they have not received any such notification from him. (Yonhap)