South Korean special prosecutor indicts ex-aides over illegal budget diversion for presidential residence

South Korea's special prosecutor has indicted former presidential aides over allegations of illegally diverting administrative funds for the presidential residence renovation. The investigation, ongoing for 104 days, culminated in the indictment of former Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki and former 총무비서관 Yoon Jae-soon on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of official duties.

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The defendants, despite opposition from public officials in relevant agencies, directed the illegal diversion of state funds totaling 2.09 billion won, creating an appearance that the budget was diverted independently by each agency, to avoid responsibility.

Kim Dae-ki and Yoon Jae-soon are accused of pressuring public officials to allocate approximately 2.09 billion won (about $1.5 million) to an interior design firm, 21그램, which lacked the qualifications for such a high-security facility. This occurred between May and July 2022, despite objections from officials at the Government Buildings Management Office and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

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The defendants publicly announced that the construction would be completed within the contingency budget, deceiving the public.

Former Presidential Management Secretary Kim Oh-jin faces charges of abuse of power and falsifying official documents for creating a false cooperation letter to the Ministry of Interior to secure additional funds. Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, already serving a prison sentence for unrelated charges, was also indicted without detention. The special prosecutor's office indicated that further investigations are underway to uncover the full extent of the allegations surrounding the presidential residence.

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We confirmed that the defendants inflicted personnel disadvantages on the head of the Government Buildings Management Office who opposed the illegal budget diversion.