Prosecutors investigating allegations surrounding former South Korean President Moon Jae In’s wife, Kim Jung Sook, and her purportedly extravagant trip to the Taj Mahal in India summoned former South Korean Ambassador to India Shin Bong Kil, who accompanied her.
According to legal sources, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Criminal Division 2, headed by Chief Prosecutor Jo Ah Ra, summoned Shin as a witness for questioning on Wednesday morning.
Prosecutors aim to understand the circumstances of Kim’s solo visit to India and the specifics of Shin’s role on the trip.
Shin, who began his term as ambassador in January 2018, accompanied Kim during most of her three-night, four-day visit to India from November 4 to 7.
The investigation began after Lee Jong Bae, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, filed a complaint in December of last year. The complaint alleges that Kim requested her own invitation to visit the Taj Mahal without an invitation from the Indian government, leading to accusations of misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, breach of trust, and abuse of power.
After questioning Kim in June, prosecutors continued their investigation by interviewing officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of South Korea in India in July to clarify the facts.
Allegations of an extravagant trip first surfaced during the National Assembly’s audit in 2022, when the People Power Party raised concerns over using reserve funds for Kim’s trip to India, calling it a self-invitation and an extravagant trip. The Democratic Party denied these claims at the time.
Former President Moon reignited the controversy in May with the publication of his memoir, in which he described Kim’s visit to the Taj Mahal as her first solo diplomatic mission and stated that she visited India at the invitation of the Indian government, sparking renewed political debate.