ARREST WARRANT FOR KIM’S SECRETARY

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One day after Rep. Lee Jae-myung's wife, Kim Hye-kyung, was interrogated, prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Kim's former personal secretary. She is the key figure in Kim's government credit card misuse allegations. Whether or not the arrest warrant is issued will largely determine the future course of the investigation.

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The woman surnamed Bae for whom prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant is a Grade 5 Gyeonggi-do Province assistant junior official and a former personal secretary of Kim Hye-kyung. She is regarded as the key suspect in the government credit card misuse allegations because she managed the credit card of the Gyeonggi-do provincial government.

[Soundbite] Bae(Conversation with whistleblower, Aug. 2021(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "The receipts for the gov’t credit card were never brought. There has to be an authorization number to check with the credit card company."

Prosecutors raided Bae's home for the first time back in April, and have subpoenaed her multiple times. The estimated amount of money used with the government credit card is 20 million won. Bae has denied so far she received any instructions from Kim Hye-kyung regarding the use of the provincial government's credit card. Kim also denied the accusation during her interrogation on Tuesday. The police have requested an arrest warrant for Bae, believing she might try to destroy evidence. Six hours after reviewing the minutes of the police investigations, prosecutors also requested the court to issue an arrest warrant for her. Kim, meanwhile, submitted to police a written testimony she had prepared in advance. The interrogation was wrapped up earlier because Kim had handed in the written answers on the allegations of government credit card use, having civil servants buy prescription drugs on her behalf, and violating the Election Law. A person close to Kim told KBS she denied all the accusations in her testimony. The police believes Kim and Bae are accomplices. The court's decision on Bae's arrest warrant will likely affect the outcome of the police investigations.