South Korea’s antitrust regulator was raided Monday as part of a widening corruption investigation involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee. The special counsel team, led by prosecutor Min Joong-ki, searched the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) headquarters in Sejong, around 110 kilometers south of Seoul, officials confirmed, The Korean Times reported.
The probe focuses on allegations that Kim Ye-seong — widely described as the former first lady’s “butler” — received illicit corporate investments in IMS Mobility, a company he helped establish in 2023. At the time, IMS Mobility was reportedly in a state of capital impairment, raising suspicions that the funding was linked to his ties with Kim Keon Hee.
Investigators are examining whether major investors, including Kakao Mobility, sought favorable treatment from the FTC. Kakao Mobility was fined more than 20 billion won ($14.4 million) by the regulator on charges of manipulating its taxi service’s vehicle allocation algorithm just months before investing in IMS Mobility.
The special counsel is pursuing potential connections between these investments and FTC enforcement actions against the companies involved.
In a separate development Monday, Min’s team raided Seohee Construction in connection with a luxury gift bribery allegation. Prosecutors suspect the firm provided Kim with a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace in return for influence over a government appointment.
The necklace — worn by Kim during an overseas trip in June 2022 but absent from her mandatory asset disclosure — was allegedly purchased by an associate of Seohee Construction’s chairman shortly after the March 2022 presidential election won by Kim’s husband, former president Yoon Suk Yeol.
Investigators have learned that the chairman’s son-in-law was appointed as the prime minister’s chief of staff just before the trip when Kim wore the necklace. The probe is examining whether the gift was part of a quid pro quo arrangement and is expected to summon Seohee Construction’s chairman and other key figures for questioning.
The raids underscore the growing scope of Min’s inquiry into allegations of corporate favoritism, illicit gifts, and influence peddling at the highest levels of government during Yoon’s presidency.
