Mr. Kim was released early today (7th) as the prosecution began an investigation into allegations of false interviews between Kim Man-bae and Shin Shin-rim, former chairman of the media union.
Mr. Kim acknowledged the book deal with former Chairman Shin, but insisted that he had no intention of influencing intervention in the presidential election.
This is reporter Kim Ji-sook’s report.
[Report]
Kim Man-bae, a major shareholder of Hwacheon Dayyu and a key figure in the Daejang-dong suspicions, was released today when his detention period expired.
It has been half a year since he was arrested again on charges of hiding the proceeds of crime in Daejeon-dong.
Mr. Kim said he was sorry for causing concern to many people and generally denied the allegations of a false interview with former press union chairman Shin Shin-rim.
[Kim Man-bae/Hwacheon Dayyu Majority Shareholder: “I didn’t know that my private conversation was being recorded… (Did you have any intention to change the direction of the presidential election?) I’m not a very capable person.”] In 2011, the Busan Savings Bank investigation스포츠토토 was conducted by Yoon Seok-yeol
. The same was true of the past conversation that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Central Investigation Department chief had covered up.
[Kim Man-bae: “I don’t think (President Yoon Seok-yeol) was in a position of such influence as the head of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office’s Central Investigation Department at the time.”]
The prosecution previously accused Mr. Kim of violating the embezzlement and conflict of interest prevention laws, saying there was a risk of destroying evidence before the expiration of his detention period. He asked the court to issue an additional arrest warrant for the charges.
The main issue raised during the interrogation was the suspicion of false interviews between Mr. Kim and former Chairman Shin Shin-rim.
The prosecution emphasized that unlike the usual destruction of evidence, Mr. Kim, a former journalist, destroyed evidence by spreading false information through other reporters.
In response, Mr. Kim’s side protested that they would conduct a typical separate investigation, and the court ultimately did not issue an additional arrest warrant.
Although the specific reason was not disclosed, the court indirectly pointed out the ‘separate case arrest’, asking whether an additional arrest warrant should be issued for the trial of other charges.
With the release of Mr. Kim, the key figure in the suspicion, the prosecution’s investigation, which had begun in earnest, including a search and seizure of former Chairman Shin and Mr. Kim’s home, was put on hold.
The prosecution opposed the decision to release the suspect, saying that serious evidence had been destroyed in a variety of ways and that there was a significant risk of further destruction of evidence.
This is Jisook Kim from KBS News.