The wife of jailed and impeached former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested over graft charges that include bribery and stock manipulation.
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, 52, will join her husband in prison, as he faces trial following his ouster in April over a botched bid to impose martial law. Ms Kim denied all charges during a four-hour court hearing in capital Seoul on Tuesday.
The Seoul Central District Court granted the special prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant close to midnight, citing a risk of Ms Kim destroying evidence and interfering with the investigation.
The charges against her, punishable by years in prison, range from stock fraud to bribery and illegal influence peddling that have implicated business owners, religious figures, and a political power broker.
Prosecutors allege Ms Kim broke the law over an incident in which she wore a luxury Van Cleef and Arpels pendant reportedly worth more than 60m won or £32,100 while attending a Nato summit with the president in 2022.
A spokesperson for the former first lady claimed Ms Kim told prosecutors the pendant she wore was a fake bought 20 years ago in Hong Kong.
Ms Kim is also accused of receiving two Chanel bags together valued at 20m won (£10,700) and a diamond necklace from a religious group as a bribe in return for influence favourable to its business interests.
She is alleged to have made over 800m won (£428,000) by participating in a price-rigging scheme involving the stocks of BMW dealer, Deutsch Motors.
The investigation team led by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who was appointed in June by new liberal president Lee Jae Myung, questioned Ms Kim for about seven hours last Wednesday before deciding to seek her arrest.
Ms 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 Ms 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.
Mr 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.
While South Korea has a history of its presidents being indicted and jailed, Tuesday’s development marks a first instance in which both a former president and spouse have been detained. Ms Kim will be held at a detention centre in southern Seoul, separate from the facility holding Yoon, according to reports.
While in office, Yoon repeatedly dismissed calls to investigate his wife, denouncing them as baseless political attacks.
Song Eon Seok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, told YTN radio that he had “would like to express that I hope the special prosecutor’s investigation proceeds normally and fairly in accordance with the law and regulations”.
The former president is on trial on charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty over his failed martial law bid in December 2024.
Yoon, who also faces charges of abuse of power among others, has denied wrongdoing and refused to attend trial hearings or be questioned by prosecutors.
