Tag: Kim Keon-hee

Talk about a fall from grace for the former First Lady. Cho Kuk and his wife must be loving this:

Kim Keon Hee attends a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on Dec. 3. (Yonhap)

Sunday marked the conclusion of the 180-day investigation by the special counsel team looking into accusations against Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The team led by Min Joong-ki is scheduled to conduct a briefing on its investigation at 10 a.m. Monday at the special counsel’s office in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. Further investigation against Kim is expected to be conducted by the National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency.

Forming the backbone of the investigation were Kim’s alleged connection to a Deutsch Motors stock manipulation scheme, her alleged election interference involving pollster Myung Tae-kyun, as well as bribery suspicions, including a case involving the Unification Church.

Since the probe’s launch on July 2, Min’s team has made multiple high-profile arrests and indictments. This includes taking Rep. Kweon Song-dong of the main opposition People Power Party and Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja into custody.

People Power Party Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon and his wife were indicted Saturday, accused of giving a luxury gift to Kim. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been indicted on charges of having a sponsor pay for opinion polls conducted by Myung.

In a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on Dec. 3, the special counsel team requested that Kim be sentenced to 15 years in prison and a seizure of 2 billion won ($1.4 million) in criminal proceedings, accusing her of “incapacitating the justice system.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It seems like anytime a famous person gets in trouble they make sure to check themselves into a hospital and be seen in a wheelchair:

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, who has been in custody since June, was seen in public this week for the first time since her arrest, arriving at a hospital in Seoul in a wheelchair with an electronic ankle monitor strapped to her left leg.

In a report by cable network MBN, Kim was seen Thursday in the standard blue detainee uniform, wearing a mask and glasses, as she was escorted through hospital corridors. Her hands, presumably cuffed, were hidden beneath a blanket.

She reportedly was granted the medical visit after suffering from acute hypotension, or a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I don’t doubt any of this is true and does anyone think the left isn’t doing the same thing with the KCTU and the organizations that support them?:

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee asked for the Unification Church’s cooperation in backing a specific candidate in the People Power Party’s (PPP) leadership election in March 2023, an indictment written by special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team showed Monday.

The team suspects that the Unification Church sought to request various policy favors from the administration of former President Yoon Suk Yeol in exchange for its political support.

According to the indictment for a former Unification Church official surnamed Yun, obtained by Yonhap News Agency, church leader Han Hak-ja emphasized the ideology of unity between church and state in around October 2019 and has since pushed for various projects and events related to Africa, Cambodia, a Demilitarized Zone peace park and hosting a U.N. secretariat in South Korea.

Under the instruction of Han, Yun selected Yoon as a presidential hopeful, who can not only accommodate the Unification Church’s policy proposals but also establish friendly relations with the church, ahead of the 2022 presidential election, according to the indictment.

Yun is accused of offering Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the PPP 100 million won (US$72,000) in January 2022 while promising the church’s extensive support for Yoon in the presidential election in exchange for the government’s support for the church’s projects and events in the future.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

For anyone curious what the former President and his wife are eating while in jail that menu sounds very familiar to what ROK Army Soldiers eat from my experience:

With former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee being held in separate Seoul detention centers, public curiosity has zeroed in on the couple’s daily life behind bars — particularly their meals.

According to the monthly meal plan from correctional authorities, Yoon is expected to have a 1,730 won ($1.25) jail meal consisting of beef and vegetable porridge with steamed potatoes for Wednesday’s breakfast.

The Justice Ministry revealed that three meals are provided per day for every inmate at the Seoul detention center, budgeted at 5,201 won. This amounts to approximately 1,730 won per meal.

Meals for lunch and dinner are served in a traditional Korean style, with rice, soup, side dishes and kimchi. The detained former president, who has been in custody at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, since July 10, is scheduled to have braised chicken with seasoned dried seaweed and stew with soft tofu for Wednesday’s lunch and dinner, respectively.

Meanwhile, sliced white bread with strawberry jam, salad and sausage are available for the former first lady’s breakfast on Wednesday, according to the Korea Correctional Service.

Kim will have pork kimchi stew with sweet and sour dumplings for lunch, like any other inmate at the Seoul Southern Detention Center. Wednesday’s dinner will be chilled cucumber and seaweed soup with rice and kimchi. Kim’s attorneys have relayed to media that she has not been eating well.

The inmates are provided with nutritious meals totaling over 2,500 calories per day. No outside food is allowed.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This doesn’t look good for Kim Keon-hee if this true when combined with the prior handbag from hell allegations:

In 2022, during a Korean community dinner in Madrid, where she accompanied the former president on his NATO-related travels, Kim wore a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace valued at over 60 million won ($43,300) that was absent from her official asset disclosure. At the time, the presidential office said it had been “borrowed from an acquaintance.”

However, in May, Kim submitted a written statement to prosecutors claiming it was a replica and therefore not subject to disclosure under the public official asset reporting rules.

That alibi unraveled this month when Seohee Construction Chairman Lee Bong-kwan confessed to giving her the necklace in exchange for helping his son-in-law find a job in the Yoon administration. 

Last month, the special counsel found a replica of the same model at the home of Kim’s elder brother’s mother-in-law. Prosecutors later brought both the genuine necklace — recovered from Seohee Construction — and the replica into court, using the contrast to challenge Kim’s account. They argued that the presence of the fake suggested a deliberate attempt to mislead investigators, a charge her defense has so far been unable to disprove. (…….)

Investigators also found a Vacheron Constantin watch box and an authenticity certificate during a search last month. The special counsel suspects the watch came from a businessman surnamed Seo, a major donor to Yoon, whose robotics firm later won a contract with the Presidential Security Service to provide a robot dog for patrol and surveillance. They are examining possible links between the gift and that deal.

Seo reportedly told prosecutors he met Kim in 2022 and bought her the watch after she expressed interest, claiming he could get it at a discount as a VIP and that she reimbursed him in cash.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Cho Kuk and his family must have been cheering when they heard this news:

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested on charges of involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, election meddling and bribery, making her and her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the first former presidential couple to be detained simultaneously.

The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant against her late Tuesday, citing concerns she could destroy evidence, after special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team requested it last week on charges of violating the Capital Market Act, the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation.

During Tuesday’s hearing prior to her arrest, special prosecutors emphasized the risks of her destroying evidence, while her lawyers argued he had cooperated with questioning and was in poor health.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Investigators clearly want to get their hands on the former first lady’s butler in order to put pressure on him to turn on Kim Keon-hee in an effort to arrest her. Jailing her is payback and revenge for what Yoon’s prosecutors did against the left wing politician Cho Kuk that saw him and his wife receive jail sentences:

A local court on Wednesday issued a detention warrant for a close aide of former first lady Kim Keon Hee amid growing suspicions that he evaded the special counsel’s probe into multiple allegations surrounding Kim.

The warrant was issued against Kim Ye-seong, known as the former first lady’s “butler” or close aide, due to concerns that he might ignore summons from investigative authorities without valid reasons, according to the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki.

Kim is believed to have fled to Vietnam in April and has refused to comply with the special counsel’s summons.

Following the court’s decision, the special counsel is expected to move swiftly to invalidate Kim’s passport.

The aide is suspected of receiving 18 billion won (US$13.1 million) in dubious investments from several companies through his rental car company IMS in 2023.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like former President Yoon’s wife is trying the tried and true hospitalization tactic to avoid investigations and going to court:

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted President Yook Suk Yeol, was hospitalized on Monday at a medical center in Seoul for an undisclosed illness.

She was admitted to Seoul Asan Medical Center in eastern Seoul, where she has been receiving outpatient treatment for health issues. Her health condition was reported to be not critical. 

Kim’s hospitalization came after President Lee Jae-myung named Min Joong-ki, former chief of the Seoul Central District Court, last week to lead a special counsel probe into Kim over various allegations, including stock price manipulation, her acceptance of a luxury bag and interference with the election nomination process, with preparations under way for the official launch of the probe.

Her health has reportedly deteriorated since November, when allegations of influence peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections emerged. 

Last month, she failed to comply with a summons from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office regarding the case, submitting a letter explaining health issues as the reason for her absence.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The legal problems for the former first lady continue:

Prosecutors have ordered former first lady Kim Keon Hee to appear for questioning this week over allegations of influence-peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections, legal sources said Monday.

Kim, the wife of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, was recently sent a summons by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office to appear as a suspect on Wednesday, according to the sources.

Kim faces charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Political Funds Act in connection with allegations that she helped former People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Young-sun win the party’s nomination for the 2022 by-elections via Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, who in return conducted free public opinion polls favorable to Yoon ahead of the 2022 presidential election.

The former first lady has additionally been accused of involvement in the PPP’s candidate nominations for the 2022 local elections and the 2024 general elections.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

With her husband impeached the lawfare against Kim Keon-hee is expected to accelerate:

Throughout Yoon’s nearly three-year presidency, a series of political scandals involving his wife — including allegations of election interference and corruption — faced intense public scrutiny. However, the investigation moved slowly while she was first lady.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has been investigating Kim’s alleged involvement in election interference tied to self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun, who was indicted in December for violating the Public Official Election Act.

Prosecutors questioned Myung on Thursday and Friday, a move some observers interpreted as a sign that a formal summons for Kim could be imminent.

Kim is accused of interfering in candidate nominations during the 2022 parliamentary by-elections. 

Yoon and Kim are suspected of receiving opinion polling services from a polling agency effectively run by Myung during the 2022 presidential campaign. In return, they allegedly helped Kim Young-sun, a former lawmaker from the conservative People Power Party, secure the party’s nomination for a parliamentary by-election in Changwon. The former lawmaker is said to have paid Myung for his services.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.