Wife of South Korea’s jailed ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol arrested over corruption allegations

The wife of South Korea’s jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Tuesday over allegations of bribery, stock manipulation, and meddling in the selection of a candidate, local media reported late Tuesday.

According to state prosecutors, Kim Keon Hee is currently being held at a detention centre in southern Seoul, separate from the facility holding Yoon, her husband.

Investigators in Seoul are seeking to charge the former first lady over alleged crimes in one of three special prosecutor probes launched under South Korea’s new liberal government, targeting the presidency of Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office in April before being rearrested and jailed.

In granting a special prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant late Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court said Kim Keon Hee posed a risk of destroying evidence.

Kim did not speak to reporters as she arrived at the Seoul court Tuesday for an hours-long hearing on the warrant request. She is expected to face further questioning on Thursday by investigators, who can extend her detention for up to 20 days before formally filing charges.

Her husband's surprising power grab attempt on 3 December, which sent South Korea into political turmoil, came amid a seemingly routine standoff with the liberals, who the former president described as “anti-state” forces abusing their legislative majority to block his agenda.

Some political opponents have questioned whether Yoon’s actions were at least partly motivated by growing allegations against his wife, which hurt his approval ratings and gave political ammunition to his rivals.

Kim Keon Hee: I am “someone insignificant”

The investigation team, led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who was appointed in June by new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, initially questioned Kim for about seven hours on Wednesday last week before deciding to seek her arrest.

Kim spoke briefly to reporters as she appeared for last week’s questioning, issuing a vague apology for causing public concern but also hinting that she would deny the allegations against her, portraying herself as “someone insignificant.”

Investigators suspect that Kim and Yoon exerted undue influence on the conservative People Power Party to nominate a specific candidate in a 2022 legislative by-election, allegedly at the request of election broker Myung Tae-kyun.

In particular, Kim is separately linked to multiple corruption allegations, including claims that she received luxury gifts via a fortuneteller acting as an intermediary for a Unification Church official seeking business favours, and possible involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme tied to a local BMW dealership company.

Earlier on Tuesday, one of Kim's close allies was arrested by Min's investigative team after he arrived from Vietnam. Investigators say they are looking into allegations that he leveraged his relationship with the former first lady to obtain millions of dollars in business investments for his financially troubled company.

While in office, Yoon dismissed calls to investigate his wife as baseless political attacks and vetoed multiple bills from the liberal-led legislature seeking independent probes into the allegations.

However, new President Lee Jae Myung signed legislation in June to begin extensive special investigations into Yoon's martial law fiasco, the accusations against his wife, and the drowning death of a marine during a flood rescue operation in 2023—an incident that liberals say Yoon's government attempted to cover up.