Home > National > Social Affairs

Brother of ex-first lady summoned over luxury necklace allegations

Published: 28 Jul. 2025, 18:49

Kim Jin-woo, the elder brother of former first lady Kim Keon Hee, enters the special probe team's office in central Seoul on July 28 for questioning. [YANG SU-MIN]

Special Counsel Min Joong-ki summoned Kim Jin-woo, 55, the elder brother of former first lady Kim Keon Hee, for questioning on Monday on suspicions that he tried to hide the luxury necklace that the former first lady allegedly received as bribery, along with allegations of preferential treatment in a land development project in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi.

The special counsel team said it found a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace in question — estimated to be worth 62 million won ($45,000) if genuine — at the home of his mother-in-law in Namyangju, Gyeonggi, on Friday. The counsel summoned Kim Jin-woo to ask further why it was found at his mother-in-law's house and who it belonged to.

The necklace drew scrutiny after Kim Keon Hee was seen wearing it during a dinner with the Korean community in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022, during a NATO summit trip with former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Following the event, speculation arose over whether the necklace had been properly reported in the president's asset disclosures.

The presidential office initially claimed the necklace was borrowed from a friend. More recently, Kim Keon Hee’s legal team asserted that the necklace was a replica purchased by her and cost less than 5 million won — the reporting threshold for public officials — and she thus did not report it.

Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, right, is seen wearing a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace (pictured bottom right) during a dinner with the Korean community in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022, during a NATO summit trip with former President Yoon Suk Yeol. [JOINT PRESS CORPS, SCREEN CAPTURE]

The special counsel is now examining whether the item seized is the one Kim Keon Hee wore and whether it is authentic.

Kim Jin-woo is also under investigation for his alleged involvement in suspicions that ESI&D, a company owned by Kim Keon Hee's family, received preferential treatment in the development of a 22,411-square-meter (5.5 acres) plot in the Gongheung-ri neighborhood of Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi. He was indicted in July 2023 for forging private documents and obstructing official duties.

Yangpyeong County initially imposed 1.75 billion won in development charges in November 2016, but fully waived the fee in June 2017 after two appeals by ESI&D. After this decision was made public in November 2021, during Yoon’s presidential campaign, the county retroactively adjusted the amount to 187 million won.

The Gongheung-ri neighborhood in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi [SON SUNG-BAE]

Three Yangpyeong officials, including a former director of urban development, were indicted for altering the project’s completion date but were acquitted in the first trial. The appeals process has been suspended at the request of the special counsel.

The special counsel also searched the home and National Assembly office of Rep. Kim Sun-gyo of the People Power Party, who served as Yangpyeong County governor during the development, on Friday. The warrant cited charges of embezzlement of public funds in connection with the land deal.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SON SUNG-BAE, YANG SU-MIN, CHOI SEO-IN, LEE CHAN-KYU [[email protected]]