Independent lawmaker Kim Byeong-gi, who faces a total of 13 allegations of misconduct including suspected preferential treatment in his second son's transfer admission to Soongsil University, attended his sixth police questioning session.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit said it began questioning Kim as a suspect at 9 a.m. on Thursday. This marks the sixth round of questioning, coming six days after the fifth session held on January 2.
Kim arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Division office in Mapo at approximately 8:56 a.m. "I feel they are calling me in too many times, but I will faithfully provide my explanations," Kim said. When reporters asked whether he would waive his parliamentary immunity from arrest if an arrest warrant were filed, Kim replied, "There is no way an arrest warrant would be filed," before entering the building.
Police said they would reach conclusions sequentially, starting with allegations where the presence or absence of charges can be determined at an early date. On January 6, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo said, "It appears difficult to reach conclusions on all 13 allegations at once, so we plan to conclude sequentially on charges where investigation has made considerable progress." He added, "Since even a single complaint or accusation can be referred to prosecutors separately, we plan to refer cases separately starting with those where charges have been substantiated."
Kim currently faces 13 allegations of misconduct, including nomination bribes, abuse of authority, and leveraging his position for his children's benefit. The allegations raised against Kim so far broadly include: △acceptance of hotel vouchers, △preferential airport protocol treatment, △preferential hospital treatment, △his spouse's personal use of a corporate credit card, △mobilizing his eldest son for National Intelligence Service duties, △intervening in his eldest son's NIS recruitment, △unauthorized seizure of aides' Telegram accounts, △condoning bribery involving lawmaker Kang Sun-woo, △his second son's transfer admission to Soongsil University, △a luncheon meeting with Coupang's CEO, and △nomination bribes.