Supreme Court extends former first lady Kim Keon Hee’s detention
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife was set for release Saturday, but the top court cited concerns of flight or destruction of evidence.
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, left, is seen entering a chamber at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Sept. 24, 2025.
JOINT PRESS CORPS
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee will stay in custody for two more months after the Supreme Court issued a new detention warrant on Tuesday.
Kim, who has been held at the Seoul Nambu Detention Center since August of last year, was due to be released Saturday as her detention in an active criminal case reaches its statute of limitations with the Supreme Court.
But with that ruling still pending, the top court issued a new warrant in a separate influence-peddling case, citing concerns that she could destroy evidence or flee. The warrant extends her detention to the end of the year.
Kim was arrested and indicted in August of last year on three charges: stock price manipulation at Deutsch Motors, receiving free opinion polls conducted by political broker Myung Tae-kyun in exchange for a party nomination and luxury gifts from Unification Church officials seeking government favors for the church.
An appeals court sentenced Kim to four years in prison on the charges on April 28 this year. But the Supreme Court’s ruling has been delayed after it referred the case to its full bench to review the Myung Tae-kyun poll allegations. In the meantime, Kim’s detention in the case neared its Oct. 31 limit.
With a ruling unlikely before her detention expired, the special counsel on Oct. 15 asked the Supreme Court panel handling Kim’s separate influence-peddling case, in which she allegedly accepted expensive jewelry in return for helping people secure government posts and business favors, to issue an additional warrant to prevent her release.
An appeals court sentenced Kim to five years in prison in that case.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
