South Korea: Lawmaker denies giving favours to ex-first lady's family in land development project

Seoul, Nov 26 An opposition lawmaker in South Korea denied on Wednesday that he gave favours to the family of former first lady Kim Keon Hee in connection with a land development project carried out a decade ago.

Rep. Kim Sun-gyo of the main opposition People Power Party denied the allegation as he appeared at special counsel Min Joong-ki's office to undergo questioning.

The lawmaker is suspected of causing losses to state coffers by not charging development fees for the development of a 350-unit apartment complex in Yangpyeong, east of Seoul, between 2011 and 2016, which partially overlapped with when he was head of the county, reports Yonhap news agency.

The project was led by ESI&D, a company founded by the former first lady's elder brother and mother.

"The development fees are not something that can be done by a governor's orders because there are procedures to be followed," the lawmaker told reporters. "Public officials are under an enormous amount of stress and suffering from chronic diseases. I came here to tell them to stop their coercive investigation and to reveal the truth."

An official of the Yangpyeong County office was found dead at his home last month, days after being questioned by the special prosecutors over the case.

In a note written prior to his death, the official, who had been in charge of development fees at the time of the apartment project, claimed he was pressured by the team to testify to having followed the lawmaker's orders.

Both the former first lady's brother and mother are also under investigation by the special counsel team.

This comes just a day after special prosecutors investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid raided another special counsel team this week to secure evidence related to his wife's alleged involvement in the episode.

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