​​​​​​​ISTANBUL

Two separate investigations involving South Korea's former First Lady Kim Keon Hee and ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol have expanded to Cambodia and Mongolia, The Korea Times reported Thursday.

One probe, led by special counsel Min Jung-ki, is examining whether a Unification Church official delivered luxury gifts to Kim to gain influence on development projects, including a $1.5 billion fund increase for Cambodia, a UN office bid, and a news channel acquisition.

South Korea raised its Economic Development Cooperation Fund loan limit for Cambodia from $700 million to $1.5 billion in June 2022. Yoon visited Cambodia five months later. Prosecutors are examining whether lobbying played a role in the policy shift.

The other investigation, under special counsel Cho Eun-seok, is probing if South Korea’s military intelligence tried to contact North Korea’s Embassy in Mongolia days before the Dec. 3 martial law decree was announced. Two intelligence officers were detained in Mongolia for the attempted contact.

Prosecutors suspect the intent may have been to provoke a North Korean response to justify emergency powers, which is a crime punishable by life in prison or death under South Korean law.​​​​​​​