Prosecutors secure destroyed phone

[Anchor]

Lee Jong-ho, a close aide to Kim Keon-hee and a key figure in the Marine Corps 'rescue lobbying' allegations, has been confirmed to have destroyed and discarded his mobile phone after being investigated by the special prosecutor's office. KBS has learned that the special prosecutor has secured this physical evidence.

The use of this mobile phone spans from the investigation into the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case to the Marine Corps member's death incident, suggesting it will be a key piece of evidence in related ongoing investigations moving forward.

This is a report by reporter Lee Ho-jun.

[Report]

During the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation, Lee Jong-ho, the former head of Black Pearl Investment, managed Kim Keon-hee's account.

He is also a key figure in the allegations of 'rescue lobbying' for former division commander Lim Seong-geun, who was an early 'suspect' in the Marine Corps member's death incident.

[Lee Jong-ho/Former Head of Black Pearl Investment/Detention warrant review on the 5th: "(Did you make any requests to Mrs. Kim?) …."]

On the 10th of last month, the special investigation team for the deceased Marine secured the mobile phone being used by former representative Lee during a search and seizure.

However, five days after the search, Lee appeared at the Han River Park in Jamwon, Seoul, with another mobile phone that he had hidden with the help of an aide.

Lee and Mr. Cha dropped the mobile phone on the ground and stomped on it to break it.

They then threw the damaged mobile phone into a trash can 200 meters away. A special prosecutor official who witnessed this retrieved the mobile phone.

This mobile phone was used between 2022 and 2023, overlapping with the period when the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation investigation and trial were ongoing, as well as when the Marine Corps member's death incident occurred.

The special investigation team has secured an additional mobile phone that is even more critical than the one previously obtained through the search.

Since Mr. Cha has stated that he received instructions from former representative Lee, the special prosecutor plans to investigate Lee for the charge of instructing evidence destruction.

They also view this as key evidence to clarify the allegations related to Mrs. Kim and plan to share the forensic results with the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor team.

Former representative Lee's side claims that the mobile phone was previously seized by the prosecution and returned, asserting that it is not evidence destruction.

The special prosecutor team investivating Kim Keon-hee has notified Mrs. Kim to appear tomorrow (Aug. 20) for the questioning into the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation allegations. However, she submitted a handwritten statement citing health reasons for her non-attendance.

The special prosecutor has notified her again to appear the day after tomorrow (Aug. 21).

This is KBS News, Lee Ho-jun.