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Ex-president, former first lady come face to face for first time in 9 months during Yoon's trial

Published: 14 Apr. 2026, 16:42 Updated: 14 Apr. 2026, 16:59

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, sits in a courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on April 21, 2025. Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, right, appears as a witness during a hearing on April 13 at the same court. [NEWS1, YONHAP]

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee appeared in court as a witness on Tuesday in a trial of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking their first appearance in the same courtroom in about nine months since Yoon’s detention in July last year.

The hearing, held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, concerned allegations that public opinion surveys were conducted and provided to the former president in violation of election and political funding laws, linked to self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun.

Yoon sat in the defendant’s seat facing the prosecutors, while Kim took the witness stand facing the bench.

When asked by the special counsel team whether she was the spouse of the defendant, Kim replied, “That’s correct.”

Yoon’s legal team had said that the former president would refuse to testify if Kim appeared, but the court still called her as a witness, saying she should still be given the opportunity to be questioned even if she declined to answer.

Kim’s legal team confirmed her attendance on the day but did not clearly state whether she would refuse to testify.

The former first lady had also appeared as a witness on Monday in the trial of former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae on charges of involvement in insurrection-related activities, but refused to answer most questions.

Although the couple appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on the same day for separate cases in the past, this was the first time they faced each other in the same courtroom. They appeared as defendants in different cases in separate courtrooms on Nov. 7 of last year and again on March 17. Authorities at the Seoul Detention Center, where Yoon was held, and the Seoul Southern Detention Center, where Kim was held, reportedly coordinated in advance to prevent their paths from overlapping within the court.

Yoon is accused of conspiring with Kim to receive 58 opinion polls worth about 270 million won ($182,106) free of charge from Myung between April 2021 and March 2022. Myung is also accused of providing the polls. The case was brought by the special counsel investigation team into Kim.

The team concluded that Yoon obtained criminal proceeds of about 137.2 million won through violations of the Political Funds Act. It also believes that, in return for the free opinion polls, influence was used to help former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun — who has ties to Myung — secure a nomination in the 2022 by-election.

The former first lady, who was indicted on the same charges as Yoon, was partially acquitted in the first trial on the grounds that she could not be deemed to have gained financially from the deal, but was sentenced to 20 months in prison for accepting luxury goods. She appealed the ruling, as did the prosecution, as permitted under Korean criminal law, with a ruling from the Seoul High Court scheduled for April 28.

BY CHO MUN-GYU. [[email protected]]