Former President Yoon Suk-yeol's mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, has been handed over to the prosecution on charges of illegally renting farmland.
The Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit stated on the 18th that Choi has been sent to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office for violating the Farmland Act. Choi is accused of unlawfully renting two plots of farmland (about 3,300 square meters) she owns in Yangpyeong-eup, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, to local residents from 2021 to 2023.
According to police investigations, Choi has owned the farmland since 2005, but it has been confirmed that she has not farmed it herself. Considering the statute of limitations of five years for violations of the Farmland Act, the police looked into the rental status after 2020 and found that illegal rentals occurred for about two years, excluding periods of hardship and fallowing. Choi is reported to have acknowledged the charges.
A police official noted, "While it is true that she has been handed over, I cannot comment on the specifics of the investigation."
Earlier, the police concluded the investigation into former President Yoon's in-laws' corruption case, the 'Yangpyeong Gongheung District preferential treatment suspicion,' in May 2023, and referred five individuals, including Yoon's brother-in-law, a person surnamed Kim, to the prosecution for document forgery and use, while three Yangpyeong-gun public officials were referred for creating and using false official documents.
This case alleges that Choi's family company, ESI&D, received preferential treatment, such as not paying any development levies while carrying out an apartment development project in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District. At the time, the police reported that there was no evidence against Choi and decided not to prosecute, and Kim Keon-hee dismissed the case.
In response, civic groups, including the Judicial Justice Restoration Citizens' Action (Sasaehang) and the People’s Economic Research Institute, protested the investigation results and initiated a re-reporting effort. The police are currently continuing a reinvestigation into the Yangpyeong Gongheung District preferential treatment case.