Pressure from the government? Prosecutor personnel changes amid intensifying investigation into South Korea's first lady

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is in full swing to investigate Kim Kun-hee, the wife of South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, over allegations of stock price manipulation and receiving luxury designer bags.
With the launch of a comprehensive investigation, the district prosecutors' office's investigation chiefs have been transferred en masse by the 15th of this month, which is an unusual development.
With the investigation into the matter now gaining momentum, some are speculating that this may be a response from the president's side."
Speaking of Kim, he has been attracting attention in various ways even before Yoon takes office as president in May 2022.
In 2001, while Yoon announced his candidacy for the presidential election and was busy with his election campaign, suspicions arose that Kim had falsified his resume. When Kim applied for a professorship at a women's university in 2006, he submitted a false resume and
It was reported that false award records had been recorded. After that, one after another, cases of career fraud came to light. In Korea, a competitive society, public opinion is harsh on the backgrounds of influential people and their families, and at the time, her husband, Yoon
Kim, who ran on the platform of "fairness" in the presidential election, unexpectedly attracted attention and was subjected to harsh criticism. Kim later said at a press conference, "I exaggerated and wrote things wrongly to make myself look good.
After acknowledging some of the facts, saying, "I was so embarrassed," she apologized, but at the press conference she spoke candidly about her encounter with Yoon, which only served to highlight her innocent and pure demeanor.
She also won favor with the powerful. After her husband won the election, Kim became the First Lady, and her popularity as a "beautiful First Lady" quickly turned from the target of criticism she had been.
Kim, who had said she would devote herself to being a housewife, not only supported Yoon's busy schedule as a wife, but also accompanied him on overseas trips and played the role of First Lady.
During the Japan-Korea summit meeting with Prime Minister Moon, attention was also focused on the activities of Kim, who accompanied him. During his stay, Kim visited the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, the Tokyo Korean School, and had a discussion with architect Tadao Ando.
Kim is an expert in the field, having earned a doctorate in design studies, and was previously the president of a company that plans and manages art exhibitions.
Kim has had contact with Fuji for some time. There are suspicions that in September 2022, Kim received a luxury designer bag from a Korean pastor living in the United States.
There is a law that prohibits spouses from receiving money or gifts above a certain amount in connection with their work, and suspicions of violating the law have been raised.
A video purportedly showing the whole incident was released on the channel. He is also suspected of being involved in a stock price manipulation scandal involving an imported car dealership. In December last year, the National Assembly of South Korea removed the government from the investigation into the allegations against Kim.
The bill passed the "Special Prosecutor Act," which would have allowed special prosecutors to act independently. However, Yoon vetoed the bill, and it would take a majority of the seats of the current lawmakers to pass it again.
The bill requires the approval of more than two-thirds of the lawmakers present, but the opposition parties are trying to bring it up again in the next National Assembly session and pass it again.
"I apologize for causing concern to the public due to my wife's unwise actions," he said at a press conference. Meanwhile, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced earlier this month that Kim had engaged in a luxury brand brand promotion.
The ministry has set up an investigative team to investigate the allegations that Kim received the bag, and on the 13th, it called on the pastor who allegedly handed the bag over to Kim to appear for questioning.
As the future outcome of the investigation is attracting attention, the Ministry of Justice announced on the 13th that it had transferred the senior officials who had been investigating the allegations surrounding Kim at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
This is an unusual development, as all the senior prosecutors in charge of the investigation have been transferred. The new head of the local prosecutors' office is a person who is said to be close to President Yoon.
In particular, South Korean media has pointed out the possibility that there may have been pressure from the government. In the future, the prosecutors in charge who are working on the front lines of the investigation into the allegations are expected to be transferred.
The report said, "The Ministry of Justice is expected to announce large-scale personnel changes at the mid-level prosecution office as early as next week."