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That night, Kim Keon Hee was left out

Published: 18 Dec. 2025, 00:02

Chung Hyo-shik

The author is the social news editor at the JoongAng Ilbo.

The ruling Democratic Party’s (DP) angry reaction to the findings of the insurrection special counsel has produced an odd spectacle. After 180 days of investigation, party leaders have asked what the probe actually accomplished. The DP itself appointed Cho Eun-seok as special counsel. Yet lawmakers now deride the outcome as an incomplete investigation and a half-measure in uncovering the truth. Given an unprecedentedly long mandate, authority to pursue separate charges and even plea bargaining powers, the special counsel is being faulted for failing to deliver dramatic results.

Cho Eun-seok, the special counsel, announces the final investigation results into the insurrection and foreign exchange violations related to the Dec. 3, 2024, emergency martial law incident at the press room of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho District, Seoul, on Dec. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

At the core of the party’s criticism is the claim that the probe granted effective immunity to Kim Keon Hee, the judiciary led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and the People Power Party (PPP) over alleged involvement in an insurrection. In its report released on Dec. 15, the special counsel disclosed precise timelines, including Jo’s arrival at the Supreme Court at 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 4 and Court Administration Minister Chun Dae-yup’s arrival 20 minutes later. Investigators concluded there was no evidence the Supreme Court convened senior officials to prepare for martial law measures or that it accepted a request to dispatch liaison officers to the martial law command.

After reviewing communications records, the probe also found no evidence that Supreme Court officials were involved in Judge Ji Gui-yeon’s decision to cancel the detention of former president Yoon Suk Yeol. With the exception of lawmaker Choo Kyung-ho, whose arrest warrant was denied and who was indicted without detention on charges of playing a key role in an insurrection, the special counsel questioned 10 PPP lawmakers including Na Kyung-won and Cho Ji-yeon. All were cleared on grounds that no evidence showed cooperation with an emergency martial law declaration. As a result, momentum within the ruling bloc to seek dissolution of the PPP as an unconstitutional organization has largely dissipated.

Hard-liners within the DP and its support base have reacted most sharply to the conclusion that Kim Keon Hee had no prior knowledge. The report defined the purpose of the Dec. 3 martial law declaration as solely aimed at consolidating and maintaining Yoon’s personal power and explicitly excluded his wife from that motive. Pro-government YouTube channels erupted in anger, mocking the idea that a marital argument could serve as grounds for absolution. The conclusion that Kim, often dubbed “V0,” was entirely excluded from her husband’s plans clashes with the longstanding narrative of a joint Kim-Yoon power structure and the personalization of state authority.

In fact, the investigation into Kim was not superficial. The special counsel confirmed through testimony from a plastic surgeon, an administrative aide and security personnel that Kim underwent cosmetic procedures at a clinic in Seoul’s Gangnam District for about three hours starting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 3. She then returned to the official residence in Hannam-dong and learned of the martial law declaration by watching Yoon’s televised address.

Investigators also established that Kim was accompanied that night by a close confidant, identified as A, who had served her since the 2022 presidential campaign. Around 9 p.m., after hearing that the president would make a major announcement, A received inquiries from PPP figures and went to the residence to confirm the details. A watched the declaration with Kim and later testified that her initial reaction was disbelief, asking whether Yoon had lost his mind by doing something so serious without her knowledge. Communications records were reviewed as well, but investigators found no signs that Kim contacted presidential aides or otherwise showed prior awareness of the plan.

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, who has been indicted under detention over alleged stock manipulation at Deutsch Motors and accusations of accepting money from the Unification Church, attends her first trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Seoul, on Sept. 24. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The special counsel further secured statements from residence staff who said that after the declaration Kim angrily confronted Yoon, telling him he had ruined everything and that plans she had been considering were destroyed by the move. Staff members reportedly intervened to defuse the argument. The probe also found that Kim was never present at dinners held at the residence with former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun and generals who later emerged as key figures in the martial law plot. Those meetings followed senior military appointments in October 2023. Some analysts suggest Yoon may have deliberately sidelined his wife as a check on her influence after signs she was asserting herself in personnel matters within the presidential office.

Despite these findings, the ruling party has signaled it will push for second or even third special counsel investigations until it gets the outcome it wants. It treats as irrelevant the separate special counsel case involving Kim Keon Hee, in which she has already been indicted and is standing trial with additional investigations ongoing. Leaving aside debates over politically motivated probes and special courts, the question remains how long the country will continue to spend its days consumed by special counsel investigations.

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.