Comprehensive Special Prosecution Questions Yoon Han-hong for 9 Hours as a Suspect in 'Presidential Residence Allegations'

Alleged Intervention in Contractor Selection... Accused of Abuse of Authority
Yoon Says, "The Residence Construction Took Place After Inauguration"

Yoon Han-hong, a member of the People Power Party who is suspected of unfairly intervening in the selection of construction companies during the relocation process of former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential residence, appeared before the second Comprehensive Special Prosecution team led by Kwon Chang-young and was questioned for nine hours as a suspect.

According to the second Comprehensive Special Prosecution team, Yoon was summoned and investigated as a suspect on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights from 10:00 a.m. until about 7:05 p.m. on August 1.

Yoon Hanhong, a member of the People Power Party, is appearing at the comprehensive special investigation office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the 1st to be investigated as a suspect on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of justice related to corruption allegations surrounding the presidential office residence relocation construction. He is responding to questions from reporters. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the special prosecution team, during President Yoon's transition period, Yoon Han-hong served as the head of the presidential residence relocation task force, overseeing the work related to the residence’s move, and he is accused of improperly intervening in both the change of the residence site and the selection of the construction company.

The special prosecution focused its investigation on whether Yoon intervened in the process of changing the residence site and selecting the construction company.

Before the investigation, speaking to the press, Yoon stated, "The construction of the presidential residence took place after the transition committee's activities ended and only after former President Yoon Suk-yeol took office,” adding, “It has nothing to do with me." It has been reported that he continued to deny the charges during the questioning.

The special prosecution team is also examining the sequence of events by which the residence site was changed after Yoon, together with Kim Keon-hee, the First Lady, made three preliminary inspections of possible sites in April 2022. The team considers that the presidential residence, which was originally to be relocated to the Army Chief of Staff’s official residence, was instead moved to the Foreign Minister's official residence following Kim’s inspection.

Additionally, the prosecution suspects that Yoon urged Kim Oh-jin, former First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, to assign the construction work for the residence to "21gram," an interior company known to have ties to the First Lady. The prosecution believes that after the site was changed from the Army Chief of Staff’s official residence to the Foreign Minister's official residence, 21gram, which does not hold a general construction license, was awarded the project by private contract and received preferential treatment. 21gram had previously sponsored exhibitions hosted by Cobana Contents, which was operated by Kim Keon-hee, and had handled the design and construction of their offices.

Meanwhile, in connection with the residence relocation allegations, the special prosecution has indicted Lee Sang-min, former Minister of the Interior and Safety, and Kim Dae-ki, former Chief Presidential Secretary, on charges including unauthorized appropriation of funds. Regarding the so-called "lenient audit" allegations, Yoo Byung-ho, an auditor at the Board of Audit and Inspection, has been detained for further investigation. On July 22, the special prosecution also summoned First Lady Kim Keon-hee as a suspect and questioned her over allegations of taking bribes related to the residence relocation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.