Historic First in South Korea: Ex-First Lady Kim Keon Hee Arrested

Report by “Safarti Tarjuman” International News Desk

Seoul — South Korea has entered uncharted political territory after a court ordered the arrest of Kim Keon Hee, the wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, making her the first former first lady in the nation’s history to be taken into custody.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrant on Tuesday, citing “concerns over possible destruction of evidence” as the reason for her detention. The ruling creates an unprecedented scenario in which both members of a former presidential couple are behind bars at the same time.

Yoon, who was impeached and detained in July, is currently under investigation for allegedly attempting to impose martial law in December 2024.

Although a special counsel investigation is looking into 16 allegations against Kim, the arrest warrant focuses on three major charges:

1. Stock Price Manipulation — Prosecutors claim Kim made more than 800 million won (£428,000) between 2009 and 2012 by colluding with others to inflate the stock value of Deutsch Motors, a local BMW dealership.
2. Illegal Political Funding — She allegedly accepted over 270 million won in illicit contributions via free opinion polling services, which were allegedly used to influence People Power Party candidate selections during the 2022 by-elections.
3. Luxury Gifts Bribery Case — Kim is accused of receiving luxury items, including Chanel handbags and expensive jewellery, from the Unification Church through a shaman intermediary, reportedly in exchange for favourable treatment of Cambodian development projects.

Kim spent four and a half hours in court, denying all charges. She told the judge she was “upset that even issues from before my marriage keep being brought up.” Her court appearance followed seven hours of questioning by investigators last week.

She will be held at Nambu Detention Center in southwestern Seoul, separate from Yoon, who is being held at Seoul Detention Center.

During Yoon’s presidency, Kim was widely seen as a powerful figure behind the scenes. Her tenure as first lady was marred by controversy, most notably the “Dior bag scandal”, which prosecutors have recently reopened.

Her public image suffered further damage in recent weeks when both her master’s and doctoral degrees were revoked due to thesis plagiarism.

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