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| Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, right, visits the memorial hall for former President Kim Young-sam in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap |
Wife, mother-in-law also under investigation for multiple corruption allegations
By Kang Seung-woo
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's presidential bid has hit a snag after his mother-in-law was found guilty of violating sections of the Medical Law, Friday, and sentenced to three years in prison, a case that hurts his campaign slogan, "Justice."
What's worse is that her conviction for a crime is not the end, with three investigative agencies looking into six other allegations of ethical lapses and corruption made against him and his family, raising concern that any additional guilty verdicts could further derail the leading presidential hopeful's bid.
The Uijeongbu District Court convicted Yoon's mother-in-law, surnamed Choi, for collaborating with three business partners to establish a medical foundation and open a long-term care hospital for senior citizens in February 2013, despite having no medical qualifications ― a violation of the relevant law. In doing so, the 74-year-old and her partners received 2.29 billion won ($2.02 million) in state benefits from the National Health Insurance Service until 2015. After the verdict and sentencing, she was immediately taken into custody.
Yoon, who vowed to restore justice and the rule of law in announcing his bid for the presidency last Tuesday, briefly said in a post-trial statement that "no one is above the application of the law."
Choi is also on trial at the same district court for alleged document fraud in purchasing land in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in 2013, and has been accused of defrauding a businessman of the management rights to a memorial park in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. The Seoul Metropolitan Police are investigating the latter allegation.
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| Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's mother-in-law, surnamed Choi, arrives at the Uijeongbu District Court in Gyeonggi Province, Friday, for a trial on alleged violations of the Medical Law. She was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail, being taken into custody immediately. Yonhap |
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, meanwhile, has been look into allegations that Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, CEO of art event planning company Covana Contents, took bribes from companies disguised as sponsorships in 2019, given that 12 out of 16 companies signed on as sponsors following Yoon's appointment as the top prosecutor.
In addition, Kim is suspected of being involved in the alleged stock price manipulation of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer here, and of buying shares in its affiliate Deutsch Financial on preferential terms.
Yoon himself is the subject of an investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).
According to CIO head Kim Jin-wook, last month, his office was investigating Yoon over abuse of power allegations.
The 60-year-old is accused of abusing his power to stop an investigation into the massive financial fraud case involving Optimus Asset Management, which generated more than 1.6 trillion won in losses for 4,000 investors. In addition, he is faced with allegations that he interfered with a probe into prosecutors who were accused of forcing prison inmates to make false statements against former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook in 2011.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is also looking into whether he was involved in a bribery case linked to Yoon Woo-jin, a former chief of the National Tax Service's Yongsan branch and elder brother of former senior prosecutor Yoon Dae-jin, who had a close relationship with Yoon Seok-youl.
The former top prosecutor is trying to distance himself from the allegations involving his family members, having scheduled meetings over the weekend despite the imprisonment of his mother-in-law.
Political watchers forecast the allegations of ethical lapses could deal a serious blow to Yoon, who is seeking to promote "fairness and justice" as a key campaign slogan.
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