Rabat – South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee attended a four-hour court hearing on Tuesday in Seoul. This was after her earlier arrest and imprisonment.
She is standing trial for a number of accusations and charges including stock manipulation, bribery, fraud, and overuse of political influence.
The court issued an immediate detention warrant to try and stop her from destroying critical evidence, which could be vital to court proceedings.
Kim Keon Hee made a statement to reporters while at the hearing stating, “I sincerely apologise for causing trouble despite being a person of no importance.”
She also denied all charges against her and has used her special counsel and lawyers to mount a defence in the upcoming trial.
Prosecutors have said that Kim, 52, had moved over 800 million won or $577,940 by participating in a price-rigging scheme involving the stocks of Deutsch motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea.
There are also accusations that he had accepted gifts and donations, such as two channel bags and a diamond necklace, from the Unification Church in exchange for political favors.
During the 2022 parliamentary by-elections and the 2024 general election she was also accused of meddling in her party’s candidate nominations. This was to try and win political favor with members of the legislative counsel.
Her husband, the former President Yoon Suk Yoel has already been imprisoned due to his actions in December, when he unlawfully applied martial law.
This led to a constitutional crisis in South Korea and his impeachment in April, with the early Presidential elections taking place in early June.
Yoon had worked to try and protect his wife during his presidency and stopped any major criminal investigations taking place.
However, after the election of the new President and key rival Lee Jae Myung a special counsel was set up to investigate the various charges.
Despite South Korea’s long history of indicting and imprisoning former presidents and former first ladies, this will be the first time that both are jailed together.
The trial will continue in the near future and will mark a seismic moment in Korean politics.
