The second comprehensive special counsel team has sought prison terms for all Yoon Suk-yeol administration officials indicted on charges including ordering the illegal diversion of budget funds during the relocation of the presidential residence.
The team, led by Special Counsel Kwon Chang-young, asked the court on the 16th to sentence Kim Dae-ki, former chief of staff to the president, to four years in prison. The request came at the final hearing on charges of abuse of authority, heard by Criminal Division 36 of the Seoul Central District Court under presiding judge Lee Jung-yeop. For Lee Sang-min, former minister of the interior and safety, and Kim Oh-jin, former presidential secretary for facilities management, who were indicted on the same charges, prosecutors sought three years and six months each. They sought two years and six months for Yoon Jae-soon, former presidential secretary for general affairs.
"In the early days of the administration, they privatized state power and committed the crime in an organized and premeditated manner," the special counsel said. "This infringed on the independent administrative authority of bodies including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the damage to both people and property is grave."
"Kim, as former chief of staff, was the highest decision-maker in this case," the special counsel said. "During the trial, he mobilized retired officials in an attempt to destroy evidence and denied the charges by shifting responsibility, claiming it was an organized response."
Kim and the others were indicted on charges of pressuring officials to illegally divert a total of 2.09 billion won from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety budget between May and July 2022, in order to pay construction costs exceeding the allotted budget to 21gram, an unqualified contractor with ties to Kim Keon-hee, wife of the then-president. It was the first case brought to trial by the comprehensive special counsel.
According to the special counsel, Kim ordered the budget diversion, which did not meet the required conditions, over the objections of civil servants in order to pay construction costs matching the estimate demanded by 21gram. The special counsel believes 21gram produced an estimate of about 4.1 billion won without objective grounds in demanding the construction payment.