South Korea’s ex-first lady ‘meddled in state affairs’

The wife of former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol intervened in state affairs in exchange for “expensive valuables and money,” a special prosecutor said.

The special prosecutor’s investigations, completed Sunday, come amid a yearlong investigation into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and scandals linked to the once-powerful couple.

In early December, the prosecution team sought a 15-year prison sentence for former First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who is detained and suspected of accepting bribes for mediation and other charges.

Kim denies wrongdoing.

He apologized to the public for causing concerns during the hearing in early December.

Special prosecutor Min Joong-ki said at a news conference marking the end of his investigation on Monday that Kim “took advantage of the status of the president’s wife to receive money and expensive valuables, and was widely involved in various personnel appointments and nomination processes.”

A lower court is expected to rule on Kim on January 28.

“The investigations do not end just because they say so, but are eventually completed with evidence in court,” Kim’s lawyers said in a statement on Monday, adding that they would “work to ensure procedural legitimacy and defense rights are fully guaranteed so that the facts are not exaggerated or politically framed.”

The prosecution team also charged Unification ‍Church leader Han Hak-ja, who is currently on trial, after he was suspected of giving Kim valuable items, including two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace, as part of the religious group’s efforts to gain influence.

Khan has denied directing his church to bribe Kim.

Deputy special prosecutor Kim Hyeong-geun said, “Various people who had no common ground with each other visited Kim Keon Hee, not the president, and asked what they wanted and gave money and goods.”

“As a result, their wishes came true.”

Ousted president Yoon is on trial on suspicion of plotting an uprising, a charge that could mean life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

He denies the accusations.

A lower court decision on Yoon is expected in early 2026.