[비즈한국] The special counsel team investigating former First Lady Kim Keon-hee (led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki), which is also probing allegations surrounding the alteration of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway route, has gained momentum after securing an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol. After the former president failed to comply with two summons, the special counsel team requested an arrest warrant on the 30th, which the Seoul Central District Court issued on the 31st. The team announced that it plans to execute the warrant at 9 a.m. on August 1st.
As the special counsel accelerates its investigation, the possibility of resuming the suspended Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project has also increased. On July 29, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport nominee Kim Yoon-duck stated regarding the special counsel investigation, "I will observe the results of the special counsel's investigation, and if there is work that the Ministry must do, I will certainly do it," adding, "We must distinguish the good from the bad among Ministry officials and deal firmly with those who were complicit." The special counsel is examining whether the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) was involved in the process of changing the expressway terminal, and allegations have surfaced that working-level staff at the ministry systematically obstructed the investigation. Nominee Kim has expressed his intent to deal firmly with such suspicions regarding the Yangpyeong Expressway.
Nominee Kim Yoon-duck is a three-term incumbent lawmaker and a former Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea. On July 30, the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee adopted the personnel hearing report for Nominee Kim. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it is expected that he will be appointed as the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as early as this week.
Following Nominee Kim Yoon-duck's remarks on the Yangpyeong Expressway, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon immediately responded. Governor Kim posted on Facebook, "I welcome the nominee's remark that he will 'certainly do what the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport must do,'" and added, "The first task to be pursued after taking office should be the swift resumption of the Yangpyeong Expressway project and the promotion of the original plan."
Governor Kim Dong-yeon has consistently expressed his opinion that while the suspicions regarding the terminal change must be investigated, the project should proceed according to the "original plan."
With the special counsel's investigation gaining speed, there is speculation that the Yangpyeong Expressway project, which had been suspended since former Minister Won Hee-ryong declared it "scrapped" in July 2023, could be resumed. An industry official stated, "The atmosphere has changed since the change of government. It appears it will be re-promoted according to the original plan following the special counsel's investigation. Petitions from Yangpyeong residents for the project's resumption have also been raised consistently."
On July 14, the special counsel raided the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the contractor involved in the Yangpyeong Expressway terminal change, and on the 15th, they summoned and questioned the vice president of the contractor. On July 30, they re-summoned the vice president of the contractor for further questioning.
The Kim Keon-hee special counsel is focusing its investigation on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the contractors in relation to the terminal change allegations. The key question is "who was the first to change the terminal." It is reported that the special counsel has secured statements that the feasibility study for the Yangpyeong Expressway may have been manipulated and that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport first proposed the terminal change to the contractor.