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Ex-first lady seen at hospital in first appearance since detention

Published: 19 Sep. 2025, 13:00

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee is seen in a wheelchair at a hospital in a video report by broadcaster MBN [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is being held at the Seoul Southern Detention Center, was spotted visiting a hospital for medical treatment.

This marks the first public appearance of Kim since she was taken into custody at the detention center on Aug. 12.

Kim was seen in a wheelchair, assisted by staff, as she moved to a consultation room at a large hospital in Seoul’s Dongjak District, southern Seoul, according to broadcaster MBN on Thursday.

She was wearing the detention center’s patient uniform, along with a mask and glasses, and briefly turned her gaze away as if conscious of the cameras.

An electronic ankle monitor was attached to her left leg, and her hands, presumed to be cuffed, were covered with a blanket — standard measures taken when moving a detainee outside the facility.

Her legal representatives stated on Wednesday that Kim received outpatient treatment at the detention center’s hospital due to severe hypotension.

Kim was arrested on Aug. 12 on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, violating the Political Funds Act, and receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

She was formally indicted under detention by the special counsel investigating her case on Aug. 29.

Kim faces allegations of receiving polling data for free ahead of the March 2022 presidential election from self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun, as well as involvement in a Deutsch Motors stock manipulation scandal. She is also accused of conspiring with shaman Jeon Seong-bae, known as “Geon Jin,” to receive expensive gifts from the Unification Church in exchange for favors related to the church’s interests.

Kim’s first trial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 2:10 p.m.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]