Investigators working under special counsel Min Joong-ki conducted searches at ten different sites on Monday. The team targeted the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, along with multiple subcontractors. Officials confirmed that agents seized documents and electronic files during these operations. The probe centers on accusations that government officials manipulated an expressway route for personal gain. Former first lady Kim Keon Hee faces scrutiny over potential financial benefits from these alleged changes.
Prosecutors believe authorities altered the Seoul-Yangpyeong expressway terminus to favor property owned by Kim's relatives. The modified route would have increased land values near the family holdings in Yangpyeong County. Monday's searches did not target former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong directly. Investigators also avoided raiding Representative Kim Sun-gyo from the People's Power Party. Kim Sun-gyo previously served as the governor of Yangpyeong County and allegedly requested the route modifications.
The controversy emerged after officials announced a route review in May 2023. This decision came despite the project having passed feasibility assessments two years earlier, in 2021. The parliament requested an internal ministry audit, which took eighteen months to complete. The investigation revealed that staff members had erased key documents before submitting materials to lawmakers. Won terminated the entire expressway project in July 2023 when the scandal became public.
Prosecutors believe authorities altered the Seoul-Yangpyeong expressway terminus to favor property owned by Kim's relatives. The modified route would have increased land values near the family holdings in Yangpyeong County. Monday's searches did not target former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong directly. Investigators also avoided raiding Representative Kim Sun-gyo from the People's Power Party. Kim Sun-gyo previously served as the governor of Yangpyeong County and allegedly requested the route modifications.
The controversy emerged after officials announced a route review in May 2023. This decision came despite the project having passed feasibility assessments two years earlier, in 2021. The parliament requested an internal ministry audit, which took eighteen months to complete. The investigation revealed that staff members had erased key documents before submitting materials to lawmakers. Won terminated the entire expressway project in July 2023 when the scandal became public.
