South Korea’s Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee Arrested for Suspected Crimes Including Bribery and Stock Manipulation

The spouse of the imprisoned former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested after a court granted a special prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant on Tuesday. Allegations against Kim Keon Hee include bribery, stock manipulation, and interference in the selection of a political candidate.

The Seoul Central District Court deemed Kim a risk to potential evidence destruction in its decision to authorize her arrest. The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes launched by Seoul’s new liberal government, targeting Yoon’s presidency.

Yoon, a conservative president, was removed from office in April and re-arrested last month due to his brief imposition of martial law in December. With this development, Kim and Yoon become the first former South Korean presidential couple to be incarcerated simultaneously over criminal accusations.

In December 2021, Yoon executed a controversial power grab, allegedly motivated by growing allegations against his wife that impacted his approval ratings and provided political ammunition to his opponents.

Upon her arrival at the Seoul court for an extended hearing on Tuesday, Kim declined to speak to reporters. She is detained in a facility in southern Seoul, separate from where Yoon is being held. On Thursday, she is expected to undergo further questioning by investigators who can extend her detention for up to 20 days prior to filing formal charges.

Last week, Kim was questioned by the investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who was appointed in June by President Lee Jae Myung. The team decided to seek Kim’s arrest following seven hours of questioning.

Kim issued a cryptic apology for causing public concern during last week’s questioning but also suggested she would deny the allegations against her, positioning herself as “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. This alleged action was reportedly at the request of election broker Myung Tae-kyun, who faces accusations of conducting biased opinion surveys for Yoon using manipulated data that may have benefited him during the party’s presidential primaries and subsequent election.

Kim is also linked to various corruption allegations, including claims of receiving luxury gifts via an intermediary connected to a Unification Church official seeking business favors, and involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme related to a local BMW dealership company.

On Tuesday, one of Kim’s associates was arrested upon his arrival from Vietnam as investigators explore suspicions that he secured millions of dollars in business investments for his struggling company using his connection to the former first lady.

Investigators raided a construction company on Monday over claims that its chairman purchased a luxury necklace, estimated at $43,000, which is believed to be the same one Kim wore during a 2022 European trip with Yoon. Investigators suspect that the necklace may have been connected to the chairman’s son-in-law’s appointment as the chief of staff for then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Yoon’s second-in-command, before the presidential trip. Kim has reportedly denied these allegations, claiming that the European necklace she wore was a borrowed replica.

While in office, Yoon rejected calls to investigate his wife as unfounded political attacks and vetoed multiple bills from the liberal-led legislature seeking independent probes into the accusations against him. Following his election in June, President Lee Jae Myung approved legislation to initiate comprehensive special investigations into Yoon’s martial law debacle, the allegations against his wife, and the 2023 drowning death of a marine during a flood rescue operation, an incident the liberals claim was covered up by Yoon’s government.

Yoon’s martial law decree remained in effect for only a few hours before being revoked when a quorum of lawmakers successfully broke through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers to vote against it. He was impeached by lawmakers on December 14, 2021, and was formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April 2022.

Yoon, who was released from prison in March before being re-imprisoned last month, is now facing a high-stakes trial for rebellion and other charges. He has consistently resisted investigators’ attempts to compel him to answer questions about his wife.