The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Police raid Defense Ministry over Yoon’s alleged ties to fortuneteller

By Park Jun-hee

Published : March 15, 2023 - 18:20

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(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

South Korean police raided the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a claim made by a former spokesperson for the ministry that a fortuneteller had been involved in the relocation of the presidential residence to Yongsan in central Seoul.

Investigators from the cyber bureau of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency were sent to confiscate evidence, including vehicle entry records, to determine if the fortuneteller had visited the ministry's premises in Yongsan in advance.

Former Defense Ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan has claimed in a book that the fortuneteller was involved when Yoon was considering where to relocate the presidential residence and office in March last year.

Last month, the presidential office brushed off rumors that Yoon had any relationship with the fortuneteller and sued reporters from two local media outlets for writing about the ex-spokesman’s claim.

Yoon moved both the presidential office and residence from Cheong Wa Dae, just north of the main palace Gyeongbokgung where it had been for each of South Korea's previous presidents, to Yongsan in central Seoul. He has used the building of the Defense Ministry for his office.