The special counsel team investigating allegations against former first lady Kim Keon-hee has requested a pretrial detention warrant for her close associate Kim Ye-seong.

The team disclosed the information on Thursday, two days after he was detained under a 48-hour emergency arrest at the airport upon his arrival from Vietnam.

He had refused multiple summons from the special counsel after departing for the country in April, after which investigators invalidated his passport and alerted Interpol.

Kim is suspected of receiving improper investments of 18-point-four billion won, or 13-point-three million dollars, from Kakao Mobility, Shinhan Bank and others for a rental car company he helped establish in 2023, by flaunting his connections with the former first lady.