Seoul: A court hearing concluded Tuesday on whether to arrest former first lady Kim Keon Hee on charges of involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, election meddling, and bribe-taking. Kim, who attended the four-hour hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, will be taken to Seoul Southern Detention Center in southwestern Seoul to await the court's decision, which is expected to come as early as later in the day.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the hearing was held five days after special counsel Min Joong-ki's team requested a warrant to arrest Kim on charges of violations of the Capital Market Act, the Political Funds Act, and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation. In court, the special prosecutors reportedly highlighted concerns she will destroy evidence, while Kim's lawyers pointed to her compliance with questioning and poor health.
In the event the court issues the warrant, Kim and her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, would become the first presidential couple to be jailed simultaneously. Yoon is currently under arrest for his failed attempt to impose martial law in December.
Kim faces charges of participating in a stock price manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea, from 2009 to 2012, meddling in candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections and 2024 general elections, and receiving luxury gifts from the Unification Church through a shaman in exchange for business favors. She apologized while appearing for questioning by the special counsel team last Wednesday, calling herself "a nobody" who has caused concern to the people. During the interrogation, however, she reportedly denied all the charges.
The special counsel's investigation targets a total of 16 criminal allegations against the former first lady, including suspicions the endpoint of an expressway project was changed to where her family owns land in Yangpyeong, just east of Seoul, and that her family received preferential treatment in an apartment construction project in the county. Obtaining the warrant is expected to help the team home in on those allegations as well.
Kim was initially scheduled to be taken to Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, but the special prosecutors applied for a change to Seoul Southern Detention Center at the request of the Uiwang facility, where Yoon is currently held.