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Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Keon Hee scheduled for separate hearings Friday

Published: 07 Nov. 2025, 10:15 Updated: 07 Nov. 2025, 10:17

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his first trial on charges including obstruction of official duties and abuse of authority at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Sept. 26. [NEWS1]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee are both scheduled to appear in separate criminal court hearings Friday morning, marking the first time the couple will be in the same courthouse on the same day since their respective indictments.

Yoon was set to attend a hearing at 10:15 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul. He faces charges including obstruction of special official duties.

Kim was scheduled to appear five minutes earlier at 10:10 a.m. for her trial on alleged violations of the Capital Markets Act.

Although the two hearings will be held in the same courthouse, the court has coordinated their arrival and movement schedules to prevent them from encountering each other. Yoon is currently being held at the Seoul Detention Center, while Kim is detained at the Seoul Southern Detention Center.

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee walks out of Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul after a questioning on Aug. 12. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Since being rearrested in July, Yoon had been absent from court for nearly four months. He resumed attendance after key witnesses, including former head of the Army Special Warfare Command Kwak Jong-keun and former deputy chief of presidential security Kim Sung-hoon, began testifying. Yoon has recently taken a more active role in his defense, including speaking directly in court.

During a hearing on Oct. 31, when a special prosecutor referred to Kim as “Kim Keon Hee, the first lady at the time,” Yoon expressed irritation about the omission of the honorific, saying, “Even if I’m no longer president, you can’t just call her Kim Keon Hee. You should at least add 'Mrs.'”

Kim, for her part, has attended every court session since her first hearing in September.

At Yoon’s hearing Friday, former Presidential Security Service Chief Park Jong-joon is expected to testify, continuing from the previous session. In Kim’s trial, a cross-examination is scheduled with Myung Tae-gyun, a political broker.

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.
BY KIM CHUL-WOONG [[email protected]]