Former President Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, underwent a second investigation on the 18th after being detained by the special prosecutor's office. Mrs. Kim appeared at the special prosecutor's office around 9:40 a.m. and left the office at 4:37 p.m. after completing the investigation. The time taken for reviewing the report was only 35 minutes. It appears that Mrs. Kim effectively exercised her right to refuse to testify by responding to the special prosecutor's questions with statements like "I don't remember," leading to almost no disputes regarding the contents recorded in the report.
The special prosecutor's office is investigating Mrs. Kim regarding allegations of involvement in stock price manipulation at Deutsch Motors, interference in the 2022 and 2024 elections, bribery solicitation through a monk, and suspicions regarding luxury necklaces during overseas trips.
That day, the special prosecutor's office informed the media three times about the situation concerning Mrs. Kim's investigation. The office announced during a press briefing around 2:30 p.m. that "(Mrs. Kim) arrived at the investigation site at 9:43 a.m. and began the investigation at 10 a.m.," adding, "the morning session concluded at 11:42 a.m."
During the briefing, the special prosecutor's office stated, "Mrs. Kim exercised her right to refuse to testify most of the time. Occasionally, she said, 'I don't know' or 'I don't remember.'" The office continued, "The review of the report started at 1:30 p.m. and concluded thereafter, while the investigation on the stock price manipulation allegations concerning Deutsch Motors was ongoing in the afternoon."
Later, around 4:40 p.m., the special prosecutor's office stated, "The investigation of Kim Keon-hee ended at 4:02 p.m., and she exited after reviewing the report at 4:37 p.m."
Around 4:50 p.m., the special prosecutor's office also reported, "During the afternoon investigation, she exercised her right to refuse to testify on most questions, and some responses indicated she did not remember or was unsure."
The special prosecutor's office informed Mrs. Kim to appear for her third investigation after detention at 10 a.m. on the 20th.
Mrs. Kim is being held at the Seoul Southern Detention Center. Her inmate number is reported to be 4398. Typically, suspects for whom arrest warrants are issued by the Seoul Central District Court are sent to the Seoul Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province. However, former President Yoon Suk-yeol is being held there. Consequently, the special prosecutor's office requested that "Mrs. Kim be detained at a different facility," leading the court to order her confinement at the Southern Detention Center.