Former President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook [Yonhap News photo]

The police have concluded that while they confirmed some payments were made using banded currency in relation to allegations about Mrs. Kim Jung-sook's clothing expenses, there is insufficient evidence to prove it was paid with special activity funds.

According to a comprehensive report by Yonhap News on the 22nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Anti-Corruption Investigation Division stated these reasons for non-prosecution in a notice of decision not to prosecute regarding Mrs. Kim.

The police confirmed the use of banded currency for Mrs. Kim's clothing payments at the time. "Banded currency" typically refers to money that is bundled with a band when issued by the Bank of Korea.

The police stated, "It is acknowledged that an official from the Presidential Secretariat's Second Office paid for various outfits and other items from manufacturers and retailers with cash and other means, and that a portion of these payments were made with 50,000 won bills in the form of banded currency."

However, they added, "There is insufficient evidence to prove that state funds, such as special activity funds managed by the financial officials of the Presidential Secretariat, were provided as clothing expenses for the First Lady."

Regarding the origin of the banded currency, the police explained that they investigated financial institutions such as the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation, but were unable to trace the distribution channels.

Furthermore, they stated that while it is rare for individuals to request banded currency withdrawals, bank officials' testimonies indicated that such payments are possible to individuals or corporations upon customer request due to the absence of specific regulations on banded currency payments. Therefore, it could not be definitively concluded that the banded currency originated from special activity funds.

Testimonies from Second Office staff who stated they received payments from Mrs. Kim's personal funds, and from clothing retailers who did not know the source of the cash payments other than receiving them, were also taken into consideration.

The police also explained that no records of special activity funds being provided to Mrs. Kim were found during the search and seizure of the Presidential Archives in April.

Kim Soon-hwan, Secretary-General of the People's Livelihood Countermeasure Committee, who filed the complaint, stated, "I cannot accept the police's investigation results," and announced his intention to refile a complaint with the prosecution. Yonhap News