Special Prosecutor Kim Keon-hee said on the 10th, “We will thoroughly investigate allegations that corporations provided sponsorships equivalent to bribes in connection with the Kobanacon Contents exhibition.” Kobanacon Contents is an exhibition planning company operated by Kim Keon-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
On the same day, Special Prosecutor O Jeong-hee noted in a press briefing, “We have newly reviewed past investigation records regarding allegations related to Kobanacon Contents since the preparation period of the special prosecution.”
The sponsorship allegations related to Kobanacon Contents involve whether corporations engaged in quid pro quo or solicitation-based sponsorships for exhibitions planned by Kim Keon-hee: the Le Corbusier Exhibition (2016-2017), the Alberto Giacometti Special Exhibition (2017-2018), and the Fauvism Masterpieces Exhibition (2019). A total of 23, 10, and 28 corporations sponsored the three exhibitions, respectively. Corporations involved included Deutsch Motors, which has been alleged to have been involved in stock manipulation, as well as large corporations and financial companies. Twenty-One Grams, which was in charge of the interior construction of the Presidential Residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, where former President Yoon and his wife lived, also participated as a sponsor.
In particular, on June 13, 2019, when the Fauvism Masterpieces Exhibition started, former President Yoon was named among the candidates for Prosecutor General. The number of sponsoring corporations for this exhibition was only four on May 4, 2019, but it increased to 17 in less than a month.
Meanwhile, the company related to the so-called 'housekeeper gate' that the special prosecution is investigating also sponsored the Kobanacon Contents exhibition. The housekeeper gate is related to the deficit rental car company operated by a person surnamed Kim, who served as a personal housekeeper for Kim Keon-hee and her mother, Choi Eun-soon. In 2023, large corporations and financial companies invested 18.4 billion won in this company. The special prosecution suspects that this investment may have been made with an expectation of return, given the relationship between Kim and Kim Keon-hee. Another company operated by Kim also appeared as a sponsor for the Kobanacon Contents exhibition.