Wife of South Korea's jailed ex-President Yoon arrested over corruption
allegations
[August 13, 2025]
By KIM TONG-HYUNG
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The wife of South Korea's jailed former
President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested as investigators seek to
charge her over various suspected crimes, including bribery, stock
manipulation and meddling in the selection of a candidate.
In granting a special prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant late
Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court said Kim Keon Hee posed a risk
of destroying evidence.
The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes
launched under Seoul’s new liberal government targeting the presidency
of Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office in April and
rearrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in
December.
While Yoon’s self-inflicted downfall extended a decades-long run of
South Korean presidencies ending badly, he and Kim are the first former
presidential couple to be jailed simultaneously over criminal
allegations.
Yoon’s surprising yet poorly planned power grab on Dec. 3 came amid a
seemingly routine standoff with the liberals, who he described as
“anti-state” forces abusing their legislative majority to block his
agenda. Some political opponents have questioned whether Yoon’s actions
were at least partly motivated by growing allegations against his wife,
which hurt his approval ratings and gave political ammunition to his
rivals.
Kim did not speak to reporters as she arrived at the Seoul court Tuesday
for an hours-long hearing on the warrant request. She is being held at a
detention center in southern Seoul, separate from the facility holding
Yoon. She is expected to face further questioning on Thursday by
investigators, who can extend her detention for up to 20 days before
formally filing charges.
The investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who was
appointed in June by new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, initially
questioned Kim for about seven hours on Wednesday last week before
deciding to seek her arrest.
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 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. 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.
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South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee, wife of impeached
former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court to attend a
hearing to review her arrest warrant requested by special
prosecutors, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Jung
Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)
Kim is separately linked to multiple corruption allegations,
including claims that she received luxury gifts via a fortuneteller
acting as an intermediary for a Unification Church official seeking
business favors, and possible involvement in a stock price
manipulation scheme tied to a local BMW dealership company.
Min’s investigation team arrested one of Kim’s close associates
earlier Tuesday following his arrival from Vietnam, as they look
into suspicions that he used his connection to the former first lady
to secure millions of dollars in business investments for his
financially struggling company.
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.
While in office, Yoon dismissed calls to investigate his wife as
baseless political attacks and vetoed multiple bills from the
liberal-led legislature seeking independent probes into the
allegations.
Shortly after winning the early presidential election in June, new
President Lee Jae Myung approved legislation to launch sweeping
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 Yoon’s government tried to cover up.
Yoon’s martial law decree lasted only hours, after a quorum of
lawmakers managed to break through a blockade of heavily armed
soldiers and voted to revoke the measure. He was impeached by
lawmakers on Dec. 14 and was formally removed from office by the
Constitutional Court in April.
Yoon, who was sent back to prison last month following a March
release and faces a high-stakes trial on rebellion and other
charges, has repeatedly resisted investigators’ attempts to compel
him to answer questions about his wife.
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