South Korea’s former first lady arrested after court issues warrant on corruption charges
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South Korean court orders arrest of wife of jailed ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol
A South Korean court orders the arrest of the wife of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Kim Keon Hee is linked to various suspected crimes, including bribery, stock manipulation and meddling in the selection of a candidate. The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes launched under Seoul’s new liberal government. Yoon was removed from office in April and rearrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in December. He and Kim are the first presidential couple to be simultaneously arrested over criminal allegations in the South Korean history.. Kim spoke briefly to reporters as she appeared for last week’s questioning, issuing a vague apology for causing public concern.
Investigators said the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim Keon Hee late Tuesday.
The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes launched under Seoul’s new liberal government targeting the presidency of Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office in April and rearrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in December.
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While Yoon’s self-inflicted downfall extended a decades-long run of South Korean presidencies ending badly, he and Kim are the first presidential couple to be simultaneously arrested over criminal allegations.
Yoon’s surprising yet poorly planned power grab on Dec. 3 came amid a seemingly routine standoff with the liberals, who he described as “anti-state” forces abusing their legislative majority to block his agenda. Some political opponents have questioned whether Yoon’s actions were at least partly motivated by growing allegations against his wife, which hurt his approval ratings and gave political ammunition to his rivals.
Kim did not speak to reporters as she arrived at the Seoul court Tuesday for an hours-long hearing on the warrant request. She will be held at a detention center in southern Seoul, separate from the facility holding Yoon.
The investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who was appointed in June by new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, questioned Kim for about seven hours on Wednesday last week before deciding to seek her arrest.
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Kim spoke briefly to reporters as she appeared for last week’s questioning, issuing a vague apology for causing public concern but also hinting that she would deny the allegations against her, portraying herself as “someone insignificant.”
Investigators suspect that Kim and Yoon exerted undue influence on the conservative People Power Party to nominate a specific candidate in a 2022 legislative by-election, allegedly at the request of election broker Myung Tae-kyun. Myung faces accusations of conducting free opinion surveys for Yoon using manipulated data that possibly helped him win the party’s presidential primaries before his election as president.
Kim is separately linked to multiple corruption allegations, including claims that she received luxury gifts via a fortuneteller acting as an intermediary for a Unification Church official seeking business favors, and possible involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme tied to a local BMW dealership company.
While in office, Yoon repeatedly dismissed calls to investigate his wife, denouncing them as baseless political attacks.
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Wife of South Korea’s jailed ex-president arrested
Kim Keon Hee denied all charges during a four-hour court hearing in Seoul. But the court issued a detention warrant, citing the risk that she may destroy evidence. Yoon was detained in January to face trial over a failed martial law bid last year that plunged the country into chaos and eventually led to his ouster. South Korea has a history of former presidents being indicted and imprisoned. But this is the first time both the former president and former first lady have been jailed.
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee denied all charges during a four-hour court hearing in Seoul on Tuesday. But the court issued a detention warrant, citing the risk that she may destroy evidence.
South Korea has a history of former presidents being indicted and imprisoned. However, this is the first time both the former president and former first lady have been jailed.
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Yoon was detained in January to face trial over a failed martial law bid last year that plunged the country into chaos and eventually led to his ouster.
Prosecutors say Kim, 52, made over 800 million won ($577,940; £428,000) by participating in a price-rigging scheme involving the stocks of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea.
While this allegedly happened before her husband was elected the country’s leader, it continued to cast a shadow throughout his presidency.
She allegedly also accepted two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace as bribes from the controversial Unification Church in exchange for business favours.
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Among other charges, Kim is also accused of meddling in candidate nominations during the parliamentary by-elections in 2022 and the general elections last year.
Kim appeared solemn as she attended Tuesday’s hearing wearing a black suit and a black skirt.
“I sincerely apologise for causing trouble despite being a person of no importance,” she told reporters.
While he was president, Yoon vetoed three opposition-led bills that sought a special counsel investigation into allegations against Kim.
He issued the last veto in November, a week before he declared martial law.
A special counsel was set up in June this year after Yoon’s rival Lee Jae Myung became president.
South Korea’s former first lady jailed after court issues warrant
Kim Keon Hee was arrested after a court issued a warrant just before midnight Tuesday. She faces a long list of charges including stock fraud, bribery, and illegal influence peddling. Her husband, ex-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, is also in jail facing trial for multiple charges related to his attempt to impose martial law.
She faces accusations of corruption, which she denies, according to the special prosecutor leading the investigation.
Earlier in the day, Kim, wearing a black suit, bowed upon arriving at court but did not speak to reporters.
The court accepted an argument that she may destroy evidence as grounds for her arrest, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News.
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Kim is the country’s first former first lady to be arrested.
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She faces a long list of charges including stock fraud, bribery, and illegal influence peddling.
Those charges are punishable by years in prison and have also implicated big business owners, religious figures, and a political power broker.
Among the accusations, she is alleged to have received two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace from a religious group as a bribe in return for influence.
Her lawyers did not comment Tuesday but have previously denied the accusations and dismissed reports about some of the gifts she allegedly received.
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Kim’s husband, ex-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, is also in jail facing trial for multiple charges related to his attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.
He, too, faces charges of abuse of power among others, but has denied wrongdoing.
Yoon could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
South Korea’s former first lady arrested on corruption charges
Kim Keon Hee, the wife of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, has been arrested on corruption charges. The arrest came after a Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant, citing concerns over possible evidence tampering. This is the first time that a former president and former first lady have been imprisoned.
Legal proceedings What are the charges against Kim The charges against Kim include violations of capital market and financial investment laws, as well as political funds laws. She is accused of making over 800 million won through stock price manipulation at Deutsch Motors, a local BMW dealership, between 2009 and 2012. Further allegations include receiving illegal political funding worth over 270 million won and accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church in exchange for influence favorable to its business interests.
Family legal troubles Kim to be held in separate cell from husband Yoon Kim was questioned for over seven hours by investigators last week before the arrest warrant was sought. She will be held at Nambu detention center in southwestern Seoul, separate from her husband Yoon, who has been in custody since July. During her court appearance, Kim denied all charges and expressed frustration over personal matters being scrutinized. At the same time, she issued an apology “for causing trouble despite being a person of no importance.”
South Korea’s ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee arrested on corruption charges: Who is she and what is the case against her
Kim Keon-hee was arrested on Tuesday (Aug. 12) after a five-hour hearing in court. The charges against her include stock fraud, bribery and illegal influence peddling. She will join her husband and former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in jail as he faces trial in the martial law imposition case. She is also known to be an animal rights activist, and she vowed to end dog meat consumption in the country during her husband’s tenure as president. In 2022, she was termed as ‘fashionista’ by world media after she attended the 2022 NATO Summit in Spain.
Who is Kim Keon Hee?
She married Yoon on 2012 and the couple has no children. They reportedly have around six dogs and five cats. In 2022, when Yoon was elected as the president of South Korea, she said that she preferred the term ‘ President’s spouse’ over ‘ First Lady.’ Keon-hee’s father passed away when she was in school, and her mother Choi Eun-sun was tried but acquitted in a case related to running of elderly care house without a medical license. She was also sentenced in a real estate fraud case. She is also known to be an animal rights activist, and she vowed to end dog meat consumption in the country during her husband’s tenure as president. She received a parole in May 2024. In 2022, she was termed as ‘fashionista’ by world media after she attended the 2022 NATO Summit in Spain.
Read More | South Korea’s martial law and history of impeachment
What is she accused of?
Keon-hee was accused of falsifying her academic details while applying for teaching jobs back in 2007. According to local reports, Kim Keon-hee applied for a job at University of Suwon in 2007 where she claimed that she studied in New York University in 2006, but reports revealed that the programme she claimed to have studied was only available to MBA students. She also claimed to have worked as the director of the Korea Association of Game Industry (K-Games) since 2002. But K-Games was established in 2004. A controversy also broke out when she claimed that she was a recipient of a 2004 Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival prize. But S Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, had no record of her having won an award.
She is also accused of helping her mother in stock price manipulation and making upto $1.68 million from it. However, she and her mother were acquitted in that case.