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In
a stunning escalation of South Korea’s political reckoning, prosecutors have
requested the arrest of ex-First Lady Kim Keon Hee — just months after her
husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was detained over a controversial
declaration of martial law.
Zig
Diaries World News
Date: Thursday, 7 August 2025
Time: 08:00 WAT
Location: 📍 Seoul, South Korea
Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee could become the first
presidential spouse arrested in South Korea's history.
South
Korean prosecutors on Thursday moved to arrest former First Lady, Kim Keon Hee,
following intense questioning over alleged bribery, stock manipulation, and
political interference — capping a dramatic sequence that has left both her and
her husband, ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, at the centre of a constitutional
crisis.
“We
requested an arrest warrant for Kim at 1:21 pm (0421 GMT),” the special
counsel’s office said in a brief statement. The timing comes just a day after
the 52-year-old was grilled for hours over multiple allegations, all of which
she reportedly denied.
Arriving
at the prosecutor’s office on Wednesday, Kim said, “I sincerely apologise for
causing trouble despite being a person of no importance,” in a terse comment to
the media.
If
approved, the warrant would make Kim the first First Lady in South Korea’s democratic
history to be arrested — and the first time a presidential couple was detained
concurrently.
Her
husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, a former top prosecutor turned president, was impeached
and removed from office in April after unilaterally declaring martial law in
December. The controversial decree briefly suspended civilian rule before being
overturned by parliament.
Yoon
had previously vetoed three investigation bills passed by the
opposition-controlled National Assembly that sought to probe his wife’s activities,
including a widely circulated 2022 video showing her accepting a Dior handbag
from a self-proclaimed fan.
Kim
also faces accusations of meddling in the party nomination process ahead of
parliamentary elections — a breach of South Korean election law.
Public
trust further eroded after reports surfaced alleging her involvement in stock
manipulation schemes during her time as an art consultant, before her husband's
presidency.
The
fallout has left a political void ahead of South Korea’s next scheduled
elections in late 2025.
The
arrest request is expected to be reviewed by the Seoul Central District Court
within days.
AFP
contributed to this report.
🏷️Tags: Kim Keon Hee, South Korea, Political Arrests, Yoon Suk Yeol, Seoul
#KimKeonHee #SouthKoreaPolitics #Seoul #ZigWorldNews #YoonSukYeol #ZigDiaries
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