Special Counsel Indicts Five Prosecutors Including Former Seoul Central District Chief Lee Changsoo Over "Kim Keonhee Deutsche Acquittal"

False Date Entries on Investigation Results Report
Allegations of "Answer Sheet Editing" Also Included
Former Prosecutor General Shim Ujeong Booked
But Excluded from Indictment

The second Special Prosecutor team led by Kwon Changyoung has indicted five prosecutors from the investigation team at the time, including former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief Lee Changsoo, on charges of unlawfully dismissing charges against First Lady Kim Keonhee in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case.

Lee Changsoo, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is attending the first impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on February 17, 2025. Photo by Dongju Yoon

On the 20th, the Special Prosecutor team announced that it had indicted without detention five individuals, including former chief prosecutor Lee, former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief anti-corruption prosecutor Choi Jaehun—who was the lead prosecutor on the case at the time—former Gongju Branch chief prosecutor of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office Kim Mingu, and former deputy chief prosecutor of anti-corruption investigations Seo Minseok.

In 2024, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's anti-corruption department No. 2 determined that Mrs. Kim, trusting former Deutsche Motors chairman Kwon Osu, only entrusted her account management to him and was unaware of the price manipulation crime, ultimately deciding not to indict her on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act.

The Special Prosecutor team concluded that, during this process, members of the investigation team reached their decision not to indict Mrs. Kim through illicit means. Former chief prosecutor Lee and three other prosecutors are accused of falsifying the date on a "comprehensive investigation results report" they drafted after the official non-indictment decision was made.

Allegations of so-called "answer sheet editing"—in which Mrs. Kim's legal team and the prosecution supposedly exchanged draft written answers in advance—were also included in the indictment. Former division chief Choi is accused of performing work in response to a corrupt request from Mrs. Kim's defense attorney to review her written responses, while former chief prosecutor Lee has been charged with facilitating this conduct.

Former Gongju branch chief prosecutor Kim has been indicted for participating in Mrs. Kim's on-site investigation in response to an improper request, even though he had not received any official order designating him as acting in that capacity. Additional allegations brought against certain members of the investigation team include having prosecutors' office investigators falsely stamp investigation reports as if they were authored by prosecutors, or failing to register related documents in the criminal justice information system.

During its investigation, the Special Prosecutor team also opened a case against former Prosecutor General Shim Ujeong on suspicions of abuse of authority, suspecting his involvement in suppressing the investigation into Mrs. Kim, but excluded him from this round of indictments.

The Special Prosecutor team stated it will request disciplinary measures for other problems identified during the course of its investigation, as a separate matter.

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