Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s impeached and ousted president , was arrested on Tuesday on charges of bribery, stock manipulation and political influence-peddling. She is the only former first lady to be put behind bars in the country’s history.
Kim Keon Hee, accused of accepting Chanel bags and other items as bribes, is the only former first lady in the country to have been put behind bars. The investigators also raided a construction company on Monday over allegations that its chairman purchased a luxury necklace reportedly worth $43,000, which they believe was the same one Kim wore while accompanying Yoon on a 2022 trip to Europe. Investigators suspect that the necklace was possibly linked to the chairman’s son-in-law’s hiring as the chief of staff of then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Yoon’s No. 2, shortly before the presidential trip. Kim has reportedly denied the accusations, claiming that the necklace she wore in Europe was not an authentic piece but a borrowed fake. Her husband has also been jailed on insurrection charges. Mr. Yoon, who was driven from office after his failed attempt to place South Korea under martial law in December, is already in jail and standing trial on insurrection charges. Four other former presidents of South Korea had been imprisoned before, but this is the first time that both a former president and his wife have been jailed in the country.
When Ms. Kim presented herself for questioning by a special counsel last week, she apologized for “causing concern to the people” and said she was “a nobody.” But she has been at the center of a slew of corruption scandals that have plagued her husband’s government and undermined his popularity. The special counsel accused Ms. Kim of making hundreds of thousands of dollars through stock-price manipulation. Although the alleged crime took place when Mr. Yoon was a prosecutor and before he was elected, the scandal continued to overshadow his presidency. She was also accused of illegally helping a politician get the governing party’s nomination in a parliamentary by-election in June 2022.
Ms. Kim has not directly commented on the accusations against her. But her lawyers have denied them, vowing to prove her innocence in court. Ms Kim is being held at a detention center in southern Seoul, separate from the facility holding Yoon. Kim Keon Hee is expected to face further questioning on Thursday by investigators, who can extend her detention for up to 20 days before formally filing charges
Ermias Tilahun , Correspondent, Addis Ababa
