On the morning of the 23rd, the special prosecutor's office summoned Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, and Choi Seok-woo, the representative of Gyeongnam Steel.
The special prosecutor's office summoned Choi at around 8:40 a.m. in relation to the allegations involving 'Kim Ye-seong the steward.' Former Vice President Jeong attended at around 9:20 a.m.
Kim Ye-seong is a figure known as a steward and is close to Mrs. Kim and her mother, Choi Eun-soon. The special prosecutor's office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the 18.4 billion won investment made by large corporations and financial institutions in IMS Mobility, where Kim served as an executive. The investing companies include HS HYOSUNG affiliates, Kakao, Korea Securities Finance, and Kiwoom Securities.
Shinhan Bank is one of the companies identified as having invested in IMS Mobility through the private equity fund 'Oasis Equity Partners' in June 2023. It is reported that Shinhan Bank invested 3 billion won out of a total investment of 18.4 billion won.
Gyeongnam Steel is also among those that invested in IMS Mobility. On this day, when asked by reporters about the background of investing in IMS Mobility, Choi said, 'It is part of normal investment activities.' When asked if he knows Mrs. Kim, he replied, 'I do not know her at all.'
Meanwhile, on the morning of the same day, Lee Il-jun, the chairman of SAMBU Construction, who is currently in custody over the allegations of stock manipulation, and Lee Eung-geun, the former representative of SAMBU Construction, were also summoned. They arrived at the special prosecutor's office around 9:40 a.m. in a transport vehicle.
SAMBU Construction is suspected of promoting that it attended a Ukraine reconstruction forum held in Poland in May 2023 and entered various memorandums of understanding (MOU), which inflated its stock price before selling off their shares to gain unfair profits.
The special prosecutor's office believes that Chairman Lee, former representative Lee, former Chairman Cho Sung-ok, and Vice Chairman Lee Gi-hoon, along with other current and former executives of SAMBU Construction, colluded to illegally gain a total of 36.9 billion won. The special prosecutor's office applied charges of fraudulent transactions under the Capital Markets Act against them and filed for arrest warrants on the 14th. Chairman Lee and former representative Lee were detained on the 18th.