First Lady Kim Keon-hee after her warrant hearing (Seoul=Yonhap News) First Lady Kim Keon-hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 12, after undergoing a suspect interrogation prior to arrest (warrant hearing). 2025.8.12 [Photo pool] photo@yna.co.kr

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-seop = The court has issued an arrest warrant sought by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-gi for First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

This makes Mrs. Kim the spouse of a former president to be arrested at the same time, a first in constitutional history, alongside former President Yoon Suk-yeol.

On the late afternoon of August 12, Chief Judge Jung Jae-wook of the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Mrs. Kim, requested on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act, and accepting bribes for bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes.

Chief Judge Jung stated the reason for issuance as "fear of evidence destruction."

Mrs. Kim, who had moved to the suspect's lounge at the Seoul Southern Detention Center after concluding her warrant hearing earlier today, will be transferred to a detention cell once assigned and begin her detention.

Former President Yoon was arrested on August 10th by the rebellion special prosecutor and is currently detained at Seoul Detention Center. This is the first time a former presidential couple has been arrested simultaneously.

Mrs. Kim is accused of participating as a financier ('jeonju') in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case that occurred between 2009 and 2012 (violation of the Capital Markets Act).

Nine individuals, including former Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo, have had their convictions finalized in this case, and the court determined that three of Mrs. Kim's accounts and one account belonging to her mother, Choi Eun-soon, were used for market manipulation.

She is also accused of interfering with the People Power Party's nominations in the 2022 by-elections and the general election last year (violation of the Political Funds Act), and of improperly receiving requests from the Unification Church through Jeon Seong-bae, a former chairman of the Geonjin Law Association, for church-related matters between April and August 2022 (bribery for bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes).

The special prosecution team, which secured Mrs. Kim's custody 42 days after launching the investigation on the 2nd of last month, has overcome the biggest hurdle in its investigation of the main charges.

Furthermore, other investigations, including the suspicion of special treatment in changing the route of the Yangpyeong Expressway, the suspicion of development favors in the Yangpyeong Gongheung district, and the 'Butler Gate' suspicion of attracting 18.4 billion won in investments from various companies, are expected to gain momentum.

younglee@yna.co.kr

(End)

(Copyright (c) Yonhap News, Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and AI learning and utilization are prohibited)