Former President Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, will undergo a pre-arrest interrogation (examination of the warrant) at 10:10 a.m. on the 12th. The decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant is expected to be announced as early as that night or late in the early hours of the 13th. If the court issues an arrest warrant for Mrs. Kim, it will mark the first time in constitutional history that a former presidential couple is arrested simultaneously.
Director General Jeong Jae-wook of the Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to conduct the examination of the warrant for Mrs. Kim, who is facing charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. It is reported that Mrs. Kim will personally attend the interrogation.
Earlier, the special investigation team filed for an arrest warrant for Mrs. Kim on the 7th, citing allegations of violations of the Capital Markets Act (involvement in stock price manipulation of Deutsch Motors), violations of the Political Funds Act (interference in the 2022 and 2024 elections), and allegations of bribery under the Specific Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act (involvement in solicitation for bribes from the Unification Church through Geon-jin). The following day, she was questioned for 7 hours and 23 minutes before the warrant request was made.
The stock price manipulation case involving Deutsch Motors involved Kwon Oh-soo, the former chairman and largest shareholder of the listed company, colluding with 13 others, including current and former employees of securities firms, to illegally trade 15.99 million shares (worth 636 million won) using 157 accounts from 2009 to 2012. During the investigation and related trials, it was revealed that six securities accounts under Mrs. Kim's name were involved in the stock price manipulation. The special investigation team believes that Mrs. Kim was aware of the stock price manipulation in advance.
Mrs. Kim is also suspected of helping former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun get nominated in the 2022 by-election in the Changwon Sangnam constituency. The special investigation team suspects that former President Yoon and his wife received public opinion surveys related to the presidential election worth approximately 318 million won for free from Mr. Myung-tae and former lawmaker Kim Young-sun during the 2022 presidential election process.
In addition, Mrs. Kim is suspected of asking former lawmaker Kim to concede his district to former prosecutor Kim Sang-min in last year's general election, and of receiving two 'Chanel' bags worth around 10 million won each, and a 'Van Cleef & Arpels' necklace and a 'Graff' necklace, worth around 60 million won through Mr. Jeon Seong-bae from the Unification Church from April to July 2022, while providing assistance in addressing the Unification Church's issues.
Eight members, including Chief Prosecutor Han Moon-hyuk, are scheduled to attend the hearing. The special investigation team is expected to argue the necessity of arrest based on the seriousness of the crime, concerns about evidence destruction, and the risk of fleeing. In relation to this, the special investigation team announced that it had submitted a 848-page opinion on the arrest to the court by the previous day.
On the other hand, Mrs. Kim's side is expected to deny all charges, arguing that there is no risk of evidence destruction and that the investigation is excessive. She is scheduled to attend the warrant examination in person, and defense attorneys Yoo Jeong-hwa, Choi Ji-woo, and Chae Myung-seong are likely to be present.
Meanwhile, the special investigation team revealed on the 11th that Mrs. Kim requested to change the location she would stay after the hearing from Seoul Detention Center to Seoul Southern Detention Center. Initially, Mrs. Kim was supposed to remain at the Seoul Detention Center where former President Yoon is detained after the hearing, but the special investigation team explained that the location was changed at the request of the Seoul Detention Center.