On the 12th, the court issued an arrest warrant requested by the special prosecution for Kim Keon-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. Former President Yoon was also arrested by the special prosecution earlier.
It is unprecedented in constitutional history for a former presidential couple to be arrested together. However, former President Yoon is held at the Seoul Detention Center, while Ms. Kim is housed separately at the Southern Detention Center.
Director General Jeong Jae-uk of the Seoul Central District Court, who was in charge of the warrant, conducted substantive examinations of Ms. Kim and issued the arrest warrant, stating, "There is a concern that Ms. Kim might destroy evidence."
It is reported that the confession letter from SEOHEE CONSTRUCTION presented by the special prosecution during the examination the previous day played a decisive role in the arrest of Ms. Kim. On the 11th, SEOHEE CONSTRUCTION submitted a confession letter stating, "Ms. Kim was given the 'Van Cleef & Arpels' necklace, which she wore during her NATO visit in June 2022, three months ago, and then it was returned." The confession letter also reportedly contained information that "SEOHEE CONSTRUCTION requested a favor regarding the appointment of Park Seong-geun, the son-in-law of Chairman Lee Bong-gwan, to the Suncheon District Public Prosecutor's Office."
Earlier, Ms. Kim's side stated during the special prosecution investigation, "The necklace worn during the visit was borrowed from my mother as a faux piece bought in Hong Kong in 2010." The faux piece came from Ms. Kim's brother Kim Jin-woo's mother-in-law's house. When the special prosecution presented a confession letter from SEOHEE CONSTRUCTION containing information contradictory to Ms. Kim's statement during the arrest examination, the warrant judge reportedly asked Ms. Kim, "Did you receive the necklace?" In response, Ms. Kim allegedly answered that she "did not receive it."
The special prosecution also reportedly raised the possibility that Ms. Kim deliberately placed fake items at the search site, suggesting a "setup of an alibi." A legal industry insider noted, "This could have influenced the judgment of 'possibility of evidence destruction,' which is one of the requirements for issuing an arrest warrant."
Previously, the Kim Keon-hee special prosecution filed for an arrest warrant against Ms. Kim on the 7th, applying charges of violating the Capital Markets Act (related to the stock manipulation scandal of Deutsch Motors), violating the Political Funds Act (allegations of interference in the 2022 and 2024 elections), and allegations of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (related to the solicitation of bribes through the monk Geon-jin).
The Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case involves former chairman Kwon Oh-soo, who was the largest shareholder and CEO of the listed company, collaborating with 13 individuals, including stock manipulators and current and former executives of securities firms, to unlawfully trade 15.99 million shares (worth 63.6 billion won) using 157 accounts from 2009 to 2012. During the investigation process and related trials, it was revealed that six securities accounts under Ms. Kim's name were used in the stock manipulation. The special prosecution believes Ms. Kim was aware of the stock manipulation in advance.
Ms. Kim is also suspected of helping former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun secure candidacy in the 2022 by-election for the Changwon Seong region. The special prosecution suspects that the couple, former President Yoon and Ms. Kim, received 318 million won worth of polling related to the election for free from Kim Young-sun and Mr. Myung-tae-kyun during the 2022 presidential election process.
Additionally, there are allegations that Ms. Kim asked former lawmaker Kim to yield her constituency to former prosecutor Kim Sang-min during last year's general election and to support former prosecutor Kim, as well as allegations that she received two 'Chanel' bags worth around 10 million won and a 'Van Cleef & Arpels' necklace worth around 60 million won from a Unification Church official through Chong Jin-bae between April and July 2022, claiming to have helped resolve Unification Church issues.