First Lady Kim Keon-hee testifies as a witness on April 13th at the criminal division 33 (presiding judge Lee Jin-gwan) of the Seoul Central District Court, during the continued trial of former Justice Minister Park Sung-han on charges of engaging in important missions related to insurrection. [Provided by Seoul Central District Court] 

First Lady Kim Keon-hee testified in court that former President Yoon Suk-yeol had never discussed the declaration of emergency martial law on December 3rd with her beforehand.

This is the first time Ms. Kim has publicly stated her position on whether she was aware of the emergency martial law in advance.

Ms. Kim appeared as a witness on April 13th at the continued trial of former Justice Minister Park Sung-han, presided over by the criminal division 33 (presiding judge Lee Jin-gwan) of the Seoul Central District Court, on charges of engaging in important missions related to insurrection.

Ms. Kim entered the courtroom wearing black-rimmed glasses and a mask.

After the oath, the court stated, "You should not wear a mask unless there are reasons such as an epidemic." Ms. Kim replied, "I have a bad cold," but subsequently removed her mask.

Ms. Kim had consistently worn a mask when appearing in court, whether for her own trial or as a witness. This was the first time she removed it after a court directive.

When asked by the court, "Did former President Yoon ever mention emergency martial law?", Ms. Kim replied, "No."

When the court reiterated the question, asking if there were any related mentions before or after the declaration of emergency martial law, Ms. Kim stated, "Absolutely not."

Ms. Kim also answered that she had not been involved in prosecutorial appointments during her time as First Lady.

When the court asked, "Did you have any involvement in the appointment of former Minister Park as Justice Minister?", Ms. Kim replied, "No."

She also stated that she had not received any reports or information regarding the prosecutorial appointments made in May 2024 from former Minister Park.

However, she did not answer the questions posed by the special prosecution team regarding the stock manipulation and luxury bag bribery cases for which she is a suspect: "Did you seek advice or consult with former Minister Park regarding the cases you are a suspect in?" and "Did you attempt to exert influence on the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office by sending messages to former Minister Park to quell the cases you are a suspect in?"

When the special prosecution team asked, "Former Minister Park and former President Yoon were acquainted; did you hear anything about this from former President Yoon?", Ms. Kim briefly responded, "Not much."

Ms. Kim refused to answer most questions related to allegations of obstructing investigations, and the witness examination concluded in approximately 30 minutes.

Ms. Kim is scheduled to testify as a witness on April 14th at the trial of former President Yoon on charges of violating the Political Funds Act. This will be their first reunion in court in nine months since former President Yoon was re-arrested by the special prosecution team in July of last year.

Former Minister Park is accused of sequentially participating in former President Yoon's insurrection crimes by convening a meeting of the Ministry of Justice's departments and bureaus after the declaration of emergency martial law on December 3rd, 2024, considering the dispatch of prosecutors to the joint investigation headquarters, checking the capacity of correctional facilities, and ordering personnel in charge of departure bans to report to work.

He is also accused of receiving inquiries from Ms. Kim regarding the formation of a dedicated investigation team by the prosecution in relation to the Dior bag bribery allegations in May of last year and instructing his subordinates to confirm and report on the matter.