Special prosecutor summons PPP's Na Kyung-won over obstruction of Yoon's arrest; Kim Keon Hee refuses witness interview

By Choi Eui-jong, The Herald Business

The second comprehensive special counsel team, which is investigating allegations left unresolved after three earlier special counsel probes into insurrection, Kim Keon Hee and the Marine corporal case, has summoned People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won for questioning in connection with the alleged obstruction of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest. Na's office said it would submit a written response instead, and the special counsel team said it would review the document before deciding whether to issue a fresh summons.

At a regular briefing Monday afternoon at its office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, the team said it had notified Na to appear on Friday but received a reply indicating she would submit a written response. The team said it plans to review the document first before determining whether to call her in again.

Na joined fellow People Power Party lawmakers at a rally outside the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, last January when the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials executed an arrest warrant for Yoon. She was subsequently reported to prosecutors on suspicion of obstructing the arrest.

Na's office pushed back on the summons, saying the matter "had already been cleared by every special counsel and investigative agency, and the intent behind dredging it up now is deeply suspect." It added that Na would "respond firmly in accordance with the law and principles."

The special counsel team also said it had notified Kim Keon Hee to appear as a witness in connection with allegations that prosecutors moved to suppress the investigation into the Deutsch Motors share-price manipulation case — but that Kim's side refused. The team is investigating allegations that prosecutors in October 2024 sought to bury both the Deutsch Motors share-price manipulation case and the designer-bag acceptance case involving Kim.

Earlier Monday, the team questioned Lee Chang-su, the former chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, as a suspect on charges including the fabrication of official documents. Lee had been in the approval chain for decisions related to the Kim cases. The team also called in Cho Sang-won, former fourth deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, for questioning as a witness Monday afternoon. The team said it had sought to question Kim Keon Hee as a witness but that her side refused.

Deputy Special Prosecutor Kim Ji-mi said Monday that the team had originally scheduled Kim Keon Hee's interview for Friday and notified her accordingly, but that Kim's side said it would not respond to investigators' questions. "We sought to question her regarding the so-called 'imperial investigation' — in which the investigative team reportedly went to a Presidential Security Service annex to conduct the interview — but she refused," Kim said.

On Saturday, the team questioned former President Yoon as a suspect on charges of leading an insurrection, focusing on the overall facts surrounding the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration. Yoon reportedly repeated his previous claim that the martial law was intended only as a "message," while declining to provide detailed testimony.

In connection with allegations that the Yoon administration illegally diverted budget funds during the relocation of the presidential residence, the team indicted former presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-gi and former presidential administrative secretary Yoon Jae-soon in custody, and indicted former presidential facilities secretary Kim O-jin without detention. The team said it has expanded the related investigation to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Deputy Special Prosecutor Kim said Monday that the team had executed search and seizure warrants at the residences of four individuals, including the former budget director at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as well as at the Ministry of Planning and Budget. "Last week we also questioned officials from the Government Complex Management Office and the Public Procurement Service in connection with the issuance of construction contracts for the presidential residence," she said.