Anchor: Investigators raided the home of People Power Party(PPP) Rep. Kim Gi‑hyeon on Wednesday as part of their probe into a bribery scandal involving former first lady Kim Keon-hee. Their investigation has gained more momentum after a court ordered the detention of former Vice Land Minister Kim Oh‑jin, who is accused of committing fraud and other wrongdoings under former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Rosyn Park reports.

Report: Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team said it had executed a search-and-seizure warrant at the residence and office of PPP lawmaker Kim Gi‑hyeon, whom it believes served as an accomplice to anti‑graft law violations committed by his wife, surnamed Lee.

The team believes Lee gifted former first lady Kim Keon-hee a clutch bag worth one-point-eight million won, or about one-thousand-200 U.S. dollars, in March 2023, in return for helping her husband win the party’s leadership election.

The team suspects the ex-first lady helped mobilize thousands of Unification Church members to help Kim Gi‑hyeon secure the PPP chairmanship and promised the church government support.

Kim Gi-hyeon admitted last month that his wife had gifted the bag, but said it was a courtesy, not a bribe.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Central District Court ordered the pretrial detention of former Vice Land Minister Kim Oh‑jin and a former presidential secretary surnamed Hwang in connection with the relocation of the presidential office to Seoul's Yongsan District.

Prosecutors say the two awarded renovation and expansion work on the presidential residence to the interior design firm 21 Gram, which lacked a general construction license, shortly after former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s election victory in March 2022.

The special counsel suspects 21 Gram's owner has a close relationship with the former first lady and received special treatment.
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.