Prosecutor seeks Interpol help to find Kim aide

The special prosecutor investigating former First Lady Kim Keon-hee has begun the process of requesting an Interpol Red Notice for Kim Ye-sung, 48, a close associate suspected of fleeing Vietnam for a third country.

At a briefing Thursday, the prosecutor’s office said it had secured an arrest warrant for Kim and placed him on a wanted list. Officials said they had begun steps to invalidate his passport through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and were working with the National Police Agency to submit the Interpol request. Authorities also urged Kim and his wife, believed to be hiding in Seoul’s Gangnam district, to surrender voluntarily.

Investigators plan to confirm Kim’s location with help from Interpol and local police, then bring him back by air to enforce the arrest. The Interpol request was submitted to the National Police Agency’s International Affairs Division on Thursday afternoon. Officials estimate that canceling Kim’s passport and securing the Red Notice will take two to three weeks.

That same day, the team questioned Yoon Chang-ho, former CEO of Korea Securities Finance, and Kim Ik-rae, former chairman of Daou Kiwoom Group, as reference witnesses. The investigation centers on suspicions that, around 2023, companies under pressure made “insurance-like” investments in IMS Mobility, a company tied to Kim. Korea Securities Finance and Kiwoom Securities invested 5 billion won and 1 billion won, respectively, in the firm, where Kim served as an executive and held shares. Kakao Mobility, itself under investigation for alleged accounting fraud, also invested 3 billion won in IMS Mobility. Prosecutors are working to schedule questioning of Kakao founder Kim Beom-su regarding the investment.

Separately, Lee Ki-hoon, vice chairman of Sambu Construction and chairman of Wellbiotech, failed to appear at a pre-trial detention hearing Thursday afternoon. He is suspected of involvement in a stock manipulation case. The prosecutor’s office said, “We believe Mr. Lee has fled,” and has launched efforts to locate and detain him.


손준영기자 hand@donga.com