Home > National > Politics

Ex-BMW dealer chairman called in for questioning in probe involving ex-first lady

Published: 03 Aug. 2025, 17:42

Kwon Oh-soo, former chairman of Deutsch Motors, attends a court hearing at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul on Sept. 12, 2024. [NEWS1]

A special counsel investigation team brought in a former BMW leader chairman Sunday as part of an inquiry into alleged stock price manipulation involving the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Kwon Oh-soo, a former chairman of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in Korea, was undergoing questioning after appearing for the session earlier in the morning in connection with the investigation, according to the special prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team.

The investigation centers on former first lady Kim Keon Hee's alleged involvement in a massive manipulation scheme that targeted Deutsch Motors shares from 2009-2012.

Kwon was convicted in the stock manipulation case and received a suspended sentence in April, as did eight others involved in the case.

Kim and another individual, surnamed Sohn, allegedly had their financial accounts used in the scheme.

While Sohn was convicted by the Supreme Court for aiding and abetting the manipulation, prosecutors decided not to indict the former first lady on similar charges in October of last year, when Yoon was still in office.

Following the conviction of Kwon and others involved, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office decided to reopen the case against Kim and transferred the investigation to the special counsel.

Sunday's questioning of Kwon is expected to focus on Kim's alleged involvement in the manipulation.
The special counsel team is also set to question former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun on Monday regarding allegations that Yoon and the former first lady used their influence to help her secure the party's nomination for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.

The former first lady is also suspected of meddling in the party nomination process for last year's general elections.

The back-to-back questionings come ahead of the special investigation team's in-person questioning of the former first lady, scheduled for Wednesday.

Yonhap