South Korea’s political turmoil deepened on Tuesday after former first lady Kim Keon Hee, wife of jailed ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, was arrested on multiple criminal charges, marking the first time in the nation’s history that both a former president and first lady are behind bars.
Kim, 52, appeared in a Seoul court for a four-hour hearing, where she denied all allegations. Despite her defense, the court granted prosecutors a detention warrant, citing concerns she might destroy evidence if released.
Prosecutors accuse Kim of earning more than 800 million won (approximately $577,940) through a price-rigging scheme involving shares of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealership in South Korea. The alleged scheme predates Yoon’s presidency but reportedly cast a shadow over his term in office.
In addition to stock manipulation, Kim is accused of accepting two Chanel handbags and a diamond necklace from the controversial Unification Church in exchange for business favors. Investigators also allege she interfered in candidate nominations during the 2022 parliamentary by-elections and the 2023 general elections.
Arriving at court in a black suit and skirt, Kim appeared solemn and offered a brief apology to reporters. “I sincerely apologise for causing trouble despite being a person of no importance,” she said.
Her arrest comes against the backdrop of Yoon’s own incarceration. The former president was detained in January and is awaiting trial over allegations that he attempted to impose martial law in a failed power grab last year a move that plunged the country into political chaos and ultimately led to his impeachment and removal from office.
During his presidency, Yoon vetoed three opposition-backed bills that would have established a special counsel to investigate allegations against his wife. His last veto came in November, just a week before he declared martial law.
The special counsel investigation was finally approved in June after Yoon’s political rival, Lee Jae Myung, assumed the presidency.
South Korea has a history of prosecuting former leaders, but the simultaneous imprisonment of a former president and first lady marks a dramatic first in the country’s democratic era, underscoring the nation’s zero-tolerance stance on political corruption.
