Seoul: Former first lady Kim Keon Hee denied all charges at the first hearing of her corruption trial, with her lawyers asserting she did not participate in a stock manipulation scheme or interfere in candidate nominations for elections. Kim appeared at the Seoul Central District Court dressed in a black suit, wearing her inmate number, as the court permitted press filming. She has been in custody since August 12.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim is the first spouse of a former president to stand trial, while her husband, ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, faces charges related to his attempt to impose martial law. Kim faces charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act, and a law concerning bribery for mediation.
The first charge involves allegations of conspiring to manipulate stock prices of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer, with illegal profits of 810 million won between 2010 and 2012. The second charge involves receiving free opinion polls worth 270 million won from a power broker ahead of the 2022 presidential election to secure a nomination for Kim Young-sun. The final charge pertains to accepting luxury gifts worth 80 million won from a Unification Church official through a shaman in 2022.
The special counsel has requested to freeze Kim's assets pending the trial. Her defense claims past prosecution decisions dropped all charges and that she did not conspire in the stock scheme. They argue the opinion polls were unnecessary for her, and the luxury gifts were never received, citing reports of a "delivery accident."
The hearing concluded after 40 minutes, with the court scheduling a preparatory hearing on Friday and formal hearings every Wednesday and Friday starting October 15, aiming to complete evidence examination by December's end.