On August 12, Kim Keon Hee, a former First Lady of Korea, appeared in court during a 5-hour hearing, but the judge had not yet issued a verdict on the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant over corruption allegations.
If arrested, she would be the only former First Lady in South Korea to be detained, along with her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is currently in prison, facing trial after being suspended in April for failed attempts to impose martial law in December 2024.
Dressed in a black vest, Ms. Kim bowed to greet her when coming to court but did not answer questions or make a statement. After the hearing, she was taken to a detention center in Seoul to wait for a decision, according to tradition.
The charges against her range from multi-year in prison, including securities fraud, bribery and illegal influence, involving businessmen, religious figures and a political power broker.
One of the notable allegations was that she wore a Van Cleef necklace, which was worth more than 60 million won, at the NATO Summit with her husband in 2022, but did not declare it in a financial report as required by law.
Kim was also accused of receiving two Chanel bags worth a total of 20 million won and a diamond necklace from a religious organization in exchange for a beneficial influence on their business operations. A representative of the special prosecutor's team, Oh Jeong-hee, said the arrest warrant was issued on concerns that Kim could destroy evidence and intervene in the investigation.
During the investigation, Ms. Kim told the prosecutor that the necklace she wore was counterfeit, purchased in Hong Kong (China) 20 years ago. However, the prosecution confirmed that the goods were genuine and were given by a domestic construction company for her to wear at the conference.
Ms. Kim's lawyer did not comment after the hearing, but previously denied all allegations, and said that the press reports about the gifts were baseless speculation.
Korean media predicted the court would announce the decision later in the day or overnight, based on the time of the previous verdict on Mr. Yoon. Mr. Yoon is being tried for rebellion, possibly sentenced to life in prison or death, along with many other charges such as abusing power. He denied the violations, refused to attend the trials and did not answer questions from prosecutors.
