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Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for former first lady Kim Keon Hee

Published: 07 Aug. 2025, 14:23 Updated: 07 Aug. 2025, 19:15

Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, appears as a suspect at the office of special prosecutor Min Joong?ki in the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Aug. 6. [KIM KYUNG-ROK]

The special counsel team led by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki filed for an arrest warrant for former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Thursday, just one day after her initial questioning.

This marks the first time in Korean history that prosecutors have sought to detain a former first lady. If granted, it would be the first instance of both a former president and their spouse being detained.

The arrest warrant request was submitted to the Seoul Central District Court at 1:21 p.m. on Thursday. A court hearing to review the arrest warrant request — known as a pretrial detention review — is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:10 a.m.

Multiple allegations, one solid pick

Kim faces multiple charges: stock manipulation involving Deutsch Motors, a violation of the Capital Markets Act; accepting illegal campaign support and interfering in party nominations through a free opinion poll conducted by Myung Tae-kyun, a violation of the Political Funds Act; and accepting favors from shaman Jeon Seong-bae — also known as “Geon Jin” — which constitutes bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

The prosecution seeks to detain Kim due to concerns over evidence tampering, citing her complete denial of all charges and the belief that further questioning without custody would be ineffective.

The special counsel said that bribery charges and other allegations that could lead to complex legal disputes were intentionally excluded from the arrest warrant at this stage. Instead, the team focused on charges for which it believes evidence is already sufficient and clearly established, aiming to first secure Kim’s custody before expanding the investigation.

During Wednesday’s interrogation, investigators compared her responses to evidence and testimony obtained from other sources. The special counsel noted that the stock manipulation and opinion poll-related allegations had been under investigation for a long time, and that the evidence gathered was sufficient to support the charges.

Kim reportedly repeated statements such as “That’s not true” and “I don’t know,” while denying all charges.

Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman also known as Geonjin, arrives at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, for his third trial hearing on allegations of receiving illicit funds during the 2018 local elections,on June 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Meddling and bribery

A central allegation involves the shaman Jeon Seong-bae. Kim reportedly claimed she had not seen Jeon since her husband’s election, but investigators said they had secured records showing Jeon’s vehicle entered the Acrovista apartment complex — where the couple lives — in mid-2022.

At that time, a former Unification Church executive surnamed Yoon is said to have given Jeon a Chanel handbag, a Graff necklace worth approximately 60 million won (about $43,000), and a box of concentrated ginseng powder to deliver to Kim. The special counsel stated it had secured a transcript of a phone call in which Kim told Yoon that the ginseng powder had improved her health.

Kim denies ever receiving any of these items and says her comment during the phone call was merely a polite response. She has maintained that her interactions with Jeon were minimal and that she only exchanged pleasantries at his request.

A new element in the investigation concerns a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace allegedly worn by Kim during the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, in June 2022. The necklace was not reported in the former president's asset disclosures, prompting suspicion that Kim received it as a bribe.

The special counsel suspected that Kim may have swapped the genuine necklace for a counterfeit version, which was later discovered at the home of her brother’s mother-in-law, to conceal the original.

During questioning, Kim reportedly stated that she had bought a replica necklace "priced in the 2 million won range" in Hong Kong around 2010, gifted it to her mother, and later borrowed it back for the NATO summit. She added that her brother took it back after the controversy emerged.

However, the special counsel is now actively investigating Kim’s explanation as potentially false, based on newly obtained information from Van Cleef & Arpels. According to the brand, the specific necklace design worn by Kim during the NATO summit was first released in November 2015 — five years after Kim claims to have purchased a replica of it in 2010.

Prosecutors argue that a counterfeit version of a necklace that had not yet been released could not have existed at the time of her alleged purchase. The investigative team has reportedly conducted a search and seizure targeting Van Cleef & Arpels to trace the original purchase records of the necklace, and is currently in the process of identifying the actual buyer.

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]

Questioning to intensify with warrant

If the court grants the arrest warrant, the special counsel plans to file an initial indictment based on the current charges and then pursue additional charges during the remainder of its mandate.

Under the Special Counsel Act, investigators are authorized not only to pursue the 16 allegations explicitly listed in the law but also to investigate any new crimes identified during the course of the inquiry.

The team is reportedly considering expanding its probe to include allegations involving Sambu Construction stock price manipulation; corporate sponsorships to Covana Contents, a company run by Kim; changes to the Yangpyeong Expressway’s endpoint; and suspicious investments in IMS Mobility — a case often referred to as “Butler-gate."

Other internally reviewed incidents, including overseas trips and luxury shopping involving private individuals, could also be formally investigated.

If Kim is taken into custody, investigators expect to summon her multiple times for additional questioning.

Update: Details of the case and date of the hearing added.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JIN-HO,CHOI SEO-IN [[email protected]]