Police are accelerating their investigation into independent lawmaker Kim Byung-ki, who faces 13 allegations of misconduct including preferential treatment for his second son's university transfer, family medical treatment privileges, and nomination donation suspicions. While police have stated they will sequentially decide whether to forward charges on some allegations after completing their investigation soon, critics are accusing investigators of dragging their feet as no conclusion has been reached more than six months after the allegations emerged.
According to police on January 9, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit conducted a search and seizure at Boramae Hospital in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on January 6. Through this raid, police aim to secure medical records and other materials related to the "family medical treatment privilege" allegation, one of the key suspicions surrounding Kim. Text messages were previously disclosed in 2024 showing circumstances in which Kim's family members received medical treatment at Boramae Hospital without waiting. The controversy intensified as this occurred during heightened conflict between the government and medical community over expanding medical school admissions, when ordinary citizens were struggling to receive proper medical care. Kim denied the privilege allegations after they were raised.
Police are also investigating a total of 13 allegations, including whether preferential treatment was provided when Kim's second son transferred to Soongsil University. Kim appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Regional Investigation Division office in Mapo on the morning of January 8 for his sixth round of questioning, stating, "It seems like they're summoning me too many times, but anyway, I will faithfully provide explanations." When reporters asked whether he would waive his parliamentary immunity from arrest if an arrest warrant were sought, Kim replied, "Why would an arrest warrant be sought?" before entering the building.
As with his previous five interrogation sessions, Kim concluded questioning on this day after approximately five hours and 30 minutes, exiting the building at around 2:33 p.m. During his first session, Kim left without signing the investigation transcript citing health reasons, and has since been questioned for around five hours each time. When asked whether health issues prevented extended questioning, Kim replied, "No. I received all the questioning I needed and came out." Before getting into his vehicle, Kim said, "I am confident I will prove my innocence." Police are leaving open the possibility of additional questioning in the near future.
Kim has been under police investigation since September last year when the allegations emerged, but police have yet to reach any conclusion, repeatedly summoning him for questioning. Some critics argue that police are merely watching political winds and failing to reach a conclusion regarding Kim, a prominent politician.
Police announced they will sequentially reach conclusions on allegations where charges can be determined in the near future. On January 6, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo said, "It seems difficult to reach conclusions on all 13 allegations at once, so we will soon reach conclusions sequentially on charges where investigation has progressed to a certain degree," adding, "Since even a single complaint can be forwarded separately, we plan to forward proven charges one by one."
Kim currently faces 13 allegations of misconduct including nomination donations, abuse of power, and leveraging parental influence for his children. The allegations raised against Kim to date broadly include: acceptance of accommodation vouchers, airport VIP treatment privileges, hospital treatment privileges, his spouse's personal use of corporate cards, mobilizing his eldest son for National Intelligence Service work, intervening in his eldest son's NIS recruitment, unauthorized seizure of staff Telegram accounts, condoning Rep. Kang Sun-woo's acceptance of money and valuables, his second son's transfer to Soongsil University, a luncheon meeting with Coupang's CEO, and nomination donations.
