South Korea’s special prosecutor, assigned to probe corruption allegations against former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, on Thursday filed a court request seeking a warrant for her detention, the prosecution team confirmed.
Kim and ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol are being investigated by two separate special prosecutors appointed after the former leader was ousted in April over his brief declaration of martial law.
Kim appeared for questioning on Wednesday at the office of the special prosecutor on charges that include stock fraud, bribery and illegal influence peddling.
Kim’s Apology
She apologised for causing concern but did not answer questions from reporters about the allegations against her.
“I am truly sorry that a nobody like myself has caused concern for everyone in the country,” Kim said as she entered the office of the special prosecutor.
The special prosecutor did not immediately provide more details about its warrant request.
Several Charges
Kim faces a long list of charges including stock fraud, bribery and illegal influence peddling that have implicated big business owners, religious figures and a political power broker. The charges are punishable by years in prison.
Since Yoon’s ouster and with the appointment of special prosecutors, the probe against Kim intensified, reopening a case of stock fraud dating back to 2009 which had been previously closed by state prosecutors for insufficient cause.
The charges against her include whether she broke the law by wearing a luxury Van Cleef pendant reportedly priced more than 60 million won ($43,200) on the first couple’s trip to the NATO summit in 2022. The item was not listed in the Yoons’ financial disclosure as required by law, according to the charge.
She is also accused of receiving two Chanel bags together valued at 20 million won and a diamond necklace from a religious group as a bribe in return for influence favourable to business interests it was pursuing.
An artwork valued at several million dollars and tens of thousands of dollars in cash seized by the special prosecutor’s team are also linked to her, according to media reports that have extensively covered her travails.
Falsifying Records
Before Yoon’s election in 2022 and under intense political pressure even from his own party, Kim stood before cameras to apologise for falsifying her academic records and promised to behave as a responsible spouse of a national leader.
Allegations of wrongdoing did not fade as Yoon narrowly won the presidency and served a tumultuous term marred by a bitter row with the main opposition party which had control of parliament and kept up pressure on the first family to come clean on Kim’s personal scandals.
In a message to reporters, Kim’s lawyers in late July denied the allegations against her and said news reports about some of the gifts she allegedly received were groundless speculation.
(With inputs from Reuters)
