From ‘VIP No 1’ to suspect: how former South Korean first lady has fallen

Kim Keon-hee’s formal call-up shows that prosecutors are close to arresting her, observers say

South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee has been formally summoned for questioning by a team of special prosecutors, marking a significant step forward in an expanding investigation into a raft of scandals tied to her and her husband, ousted former president Yoon Suk-yeol.

Both Kim and Yoon were called in for separate questioning as “suspects” under a parliament-mandated investigation, special prosecutors said on Monday. Yoon is set to appear next Tuesday, while Kim will face scrutiny on August 6, according to Assistant Special Prosecutor Moon Hong-joo.

Kim’s legal team has said she intends to cooperate, though they also indicate she may seek a postponement.

“Kim Keon-hee was widely believed to have exerted outsize influence over both her husband and state affairs, earning her the nickname ‘VIP No 1’,” Jung Suk-koo, former executive editor of the progressive Hankyoreh newspaper, told This Week in Asia.

“The fact that she is now being questioned suggests that momentum is building to finally expose the wrongdoings that plagued the Yoon administration.”

Political-science professor Jhee Byong-kuen of Chosun University noted that prosecutors likely moved forward only after securing substantial evidence and witness testimony. “Her questioning means the special prosecutors are close to requesting a court arrest warrant before bringing charges against her,” he said.

During Yoon’s presidency, Kim faced scrutiny for allegedly accepting luxury gifts – including a Dior handbag, Chanel make-up set and a bottle of liquor – from a Christian pastor in 2022.

However, the questioning last year was conducted at a secretive government facility with investigators stripped of their mobile phones, fuelling public backlash over her apparent special treatment. Prosecutors later declined to press charges, arguing the gifts did not violate anti-corruption laws – an explanation that intensified calls for an independent investigation.

Since Yoon’s impeachment in December and official removal from office by the Constitutional Court in April, his political rival, Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung, has been elected president.

With a majority in the National Assembly, the DPK has initiated three separate special prosecutor teams to investigate the former presidential couple. The investigations cover Yoon’s controversial martial law imposition, the 2023 death of a marine during a flood rescue mission, and corruption allegations against Kim.

Bribery claims

Kim is currently facing 16 charges, with prosecutors initially focusing on four key cases: two stock manipulation schemes, a bribery case involving luxury goods, and alleged meddling in election nominations.

On Friday, special prosecutors raided the Unification Church’s headquarters in Gapyeong county, northeast of Seoul, over allegations that a senior church official bribed Kim in 2022 with expensive items in exchange for government favours, including involvement in a Seoul-funded development project in Cambodia.

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The church’s leader, Han Hak-ja, denounced the raid as an “insult to Haneul (heaven)”, a term the church uses to refer to her. “They have disrespected the True Parents,” she said during a sermon to about 1,000 followers.

Prosecutors believe the church may have lobbied Yoon’s administration and supported his 2022 election campaign in exchange for favourable treatment.

Meanwhile, Yoon – currently on trial for imposing martial law on December 3 – is also suspected of meddling in election candidate nominations. After his rearrest on July 10, Yoon has refused to leave his prison cell for questioning.

In a defiant social media post on Monday, the former president defended his decision to declare martial law, claiming it was intended to “protect South Korea’s liberal democracy and constitutional order” from vaguely defined anti-state forces. “I firmly believe the people of this nation, as its true sovereigns, will protect our Republic’s freedom. I will stand with you until the very end,” he wrote.

Investigators have reportedly obtained a memo and testimony from a military officer indicating that Yoon may have directly ordered drone incursions into North Korea as a pretext for justifying martial law. The officer told prosecutors the orders were issued secretly and excluded the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the defence ministry, raising further concerns over the legality and intent of the operations.

Soldiers have also testified that drone operations commander Kim Yong-dae informed them in September last year that he was heading to the presidential office to report on the drone intrusion plans.

Last week, DPK lawmaker Kim Byung-joo disclosed that the Drone Operations Command conducted at least three missions into North Korea in October and November 2024, deploying seven unmanned aerial vehicles.

Commander Kim confirmed the missions but claimed they were conducted under orders from the Joint Chiefs of Staff – not the president – in response to North Korea’s provocative balloon launches, not an effort to provoke a military crisis. The commander had been suspended, the defence ministry announced on Monday.