Jewelry seized in Kim Keon-hee probe

[Anchor]

We reported yesterday (July 25) that the special investigation team secured a necklace, presumed to have been worn by Kim Keon-hee during her overseas trips, through a search and seizure operation.

It has now been confirmed that in addition to the necklace, several other pieces of jewelry were also seized.

The special investigation team is looking into whether there is a link to Mrs. Kim.

This is an exclusive report by reporter Park Chan.

[Report]

The special investigation team, which confirmed the necklace believed to have been worn by Kim Keon-hee, went out for a search and seizure operation.

Since it was a light piece of jewelry, they only took a small yellow box.

However, two and a half hours later, larger boxes were urgently brought in, resulting in a total of three boxes of seized items.

[“How many necklaces did you seize? Did you perhaps find any bracelets?”]

The seized items from the home of Mrs. Kim's relative reportedly include several high-value pieces of jewelry and ornaments.

These items are said to be different from the jewelry Mrs. Kim wore during her NATO trip.

The special investigation team is examining whether these newly discovered items are connected to Mrs. Kim.

Since they were discovered along with the necklace that had been missing for three years, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that Mrs. Kim's side intentionally hid these items.

If the high-value jewelry worth over 5 million won belongs to Mrs. Kim, she would be subject to asset reporting requirements under the Public Service Ethics Act.

If they were received as gifts, the Anti-Corruption Act could apply.

To clarify these suspicions, the special investigation team is analyzing CCTV footage to identify individuals who entered and exited this relative's home and has seized their mobile phone for analysis.

Additionally, since Mrs. Kim's side claimed that the jewelry worn during the trip was imitation, the authenticity of these items is also being investigated.

Meanwhile, the martial law special investigation team summoned former Minister Lee Sang-min for nearly 19 hours of intense questioning regarding allegations that he ordered power outages during the martial law period.

Former Minister Lee is reportedly still strongly denying the allegations, and it has been reported that the special investigation team is also considering requesting a detention warrant.

This is KBS News, Park Chan.