First lady Kim Keon-hee testified in court that the so-called "Julie allegations" that she once worked at an adult entertainment bar were not true.
On the 20th, appearing as a witness at a continued trial on charges including violating the Public Official Election Act against former Korea Elementary School Taekwondo Association President Ahn Hae-uk, heard by the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 34 (Presiding Judge Han Seong-jin), Kim said, "The Julie allegations make no sense."
At the hearing, a screen was installed between the defendant's seat and the witness stand at Kim's request. Kim's side said, "Health is poor, so psychiatric medication is being taken," and explained, "There is anxiety about being in the same space as the perpetrators." There was also a request for a closed hearing, but the court did not accept it.
When prosecutors asked Kim whether the Julie allegations and cohabitation rumors reported by the YouTube channel "Open Sympathy TV" were false, Kim answered, "They are (false)." When asked whether the account in which former President Ahn said he saw Kim at an adult entertainment bar was also untrue, she said, "Yes."
To a question about whether she had ever used the stage name "Julie," Kim said, "Not even once." Regarding her relationship with former President Ahn, she said, "I do not know him at all, and I have never even heard his name."
She also denied the allegation that in 1995 she worked as a hostess at an underground adult entertainment bar at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel. Kim said, "At the time, I entered the graduate school of Sookmyung Women's University to obtain a teaching certificate," and "I went to school in the morning and evening." She added, "At the time I was a student, I was young, and it was not a situation where I would be going in and out of a hotel," and said, "It was a time when I studied a lot to get a teaching certificate."
In cross-examination by the defense, Kim also said she had never used the name "Julie." Kim said, "I did not even use the syllable 'Jul' from Julie as a form of address. On my mini-homepage or in chat rooms, I used the name 'Jenny.'" She added, "Everyone who knew me called me (by my English name) Jenny."
She also explained in court how she came to know former President Yoon Suk-yeol. Kim said, "In addition to Prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol, who was famous as a lifelong bachelor, there were many prosecutors I knew," and "At the time, a 'Project to get Yoon Suk-yeol married' was underway, and people set us up. When I talked with (the former president), I felt he was a person of character and rated him highly."
At the end of the questioning, Kim was given a chance to speak directly and appealed that she had suffered harm. Kim said, "There is something I want to say. I grew up affluent, yet I faced allegations that I entertained guests," and "I have never used the name Julie, but because of this I have been suffering from mental illness for six years." When asked whether she wanted punishment for former President Ahn and others, she paused briefly and said, "If there is no genuine reflection, I want punishment."
Former President Ahn was brought to trial on charges stemming from remarks made ahead of the 2022 20th presidential election to the effect that he had seen Kim working at an adult entertainment bar in the past. Jeong Cheon-su, former head of Open Sympathy TV, who reported the remarks in an interview format, was indicted along with him. Prosecutors believe they publicly declared false information with the aim of causing then–People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon to lose the election.