Kim Byung-kee probe enters 10th month as police delay ruling
Key parties submit back-to-back letters pressing for swift conclusion
More than 10 months into a police investigation into a series of misconduct allegations against independent lawmaker Kim Byung-kee, a former floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, police have yet to reach a conclusion. Kim's side has recently submitted a written opinion to investigators urging them to close the case quickly.
Kim's legal team submitted a letter earlier this month to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit, arguing that the prolonged investigation had damaged his reputation through speculative media coverage and calling on police to issue a no-referral ruling.
A former aide who had filed a complaint against Kim also submitted a letter to police around May urging a swift conclusion. In the letter, the aide wrote that police had gone months without reaching any decision, causing hardship in their daily life. The aide called on police to "promptly determine criminal liability for Kim and others and hand down a strict disposition without delay."
Police have repeatedly responded to questions about the investigation's progress by saying only that a conclusion would come soon. At a regular press briefing Monday, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo told reporters asking about the case that he believed "results will come if you wait just a little longer." Park said at an earlier briefing that "some of the charges will be resolved soon."
Police last summoned Kim for questioning on April 10 — his seventh such session — and have not called him in again since. They have since conducted supplementary interviews with key figures in the case and reviewed legal issues, according to sources. On June 8, police carried out a search and seizure at cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb to investigate allegations that Kim had sought to arrange a job there for his second son.
Kim has been under investigation over five sets of allegations: that he accepted money from former Dongjak-gu council members in exchange for candidate nominations ahead of the 2020 general election (bribery); that he intervened to suppress an internal Dongjak Police Station probe into his spouse's alleged misuse of a Dongjak District Council corporate card in 2024 (violation of the Anti-Graft Act); that he unlawfully obtained Telegram chat logs belonging to former aides (violation of the Communications Secrets Protection Act); that he lobbied Bithumb to hire his second son (obstruction of business); and that he asked his office staff to assist his eldest son with National Intelligence Service-related work (violation of the National Intelligence Service Act).
Police had originally struggled to make headway on the Kim-related cases filed with Dongjak Police Station and other agencies, and in late December last year decided to consolidate them under the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for a unified investigation.
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