South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been jailed after a court approved her arrest on bribery, stock fraud and influence-peddling charges, making her the only former first lady in the country’s history to be detained.
Kim, 51, was formally booked into the Seoul Nambu Detention Center on Wednesday, a facility opened in 2011 and run by a female warden. The court issued the warrant late on Tuesday, citing the risk that she could destroy evidence during an ongoing investigation by a special prosecutor.
The charges against Kim include failing to declare a luxury Van Cleef pendant reportedly worth more than 60 million won ($43,000) worn at a NATO summit in 2022, as well as accepting two Chanel bags valued at 20 million won ($14,380) and a diamond necklace from a religious group allegedly in exchange for favourable influence. Prosecutors allege the pendant was genuine and gifted by a domestic construction company, though Kim told investigators it was a fake bought two decades ago in Hong Kong.
Her lawyers have denied the accusations and dismissed media reports about some of the alleged gifts as unfounded. Kim apologised to the public last week for “causing concern” and described herself as “a nobody.”
She is being held in a solitary cell equipped with a small table and floor mattress, with separate access to a common shower.
She will be allowed one hour of outdoor exercise each day except Sunday, scheduled to avoid contact with other inmates.
Meals, costing about 1,500 won ($1.08), are the same as those given to other prisoners. Wednesday’s breakfast included toast with strawberry jam, sausages and salad according to reports.
Kim, a wealthy businesswoman who founded a fine art curation agency, owns most of the couple’s assets, including their apartment in an upscale district of Seoul. Her fashion choices and policy advocacy, such as pushing for a ban on dog meat, have previously sparked controversy in a country where first ladies typically maintain a low profile.
A former judge and prosecutor who worked with Yoon described Kim as having “a politically strategic mind” and being a driving force behind her husband’s political rise. The couple married when Yoon was 52 and Kim was 39.
Yoon Suk Yeol, president from May 2022 until his ouster in April 2025, is currently on trial for insurrection over a failed attempt to impose martial law in December. He faces the possibility of life imprisonment or the death penalty, charges he denies.
The United Nations refugee agency is planning further reductions to its workforce and budget in 2027 as it adap...
Mail sorting centres used by Nova Poshta, Ukraine's largest private postal company, were destroyed&nbs...
Iran is setting conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including an end to the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions. At the ...
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, dismissing them as "scare stories," which had nothing to do with reality.
Rescuers in Nepal used helicopters on Thursday to scour for hundreds still missing after a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border with China's Tibet, sending catastrophic floods through towns and valleys, killing 162 people.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 10 prisoners of war each in Belarus, Moscow's Human Rights Commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said.
The United Nations refugee agency is planning further reductions to its workforce and budget in 2027 as it adapts to severe funding pressures, even as global displacement is forecast to reach a record high.
Iran is setting conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including an end to the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions. At the same time, Washington is stepping up economic pressure on Tehran through what the White House calls “Operation Economic Outcast.”
Mail sorting centres used by Nova Poshta, Ukraine's largest private postal company, were destroyed in Russian strikes overnight, the firm said. Elsewhere, four people were injured after drones struck an apartment building in Sevastopol, Crimea, according to the Moscow-installed governor.
Türkiye has dramatically increased diesel imports from the United States and India this month as Russian supplies have been diminished and Middle East energy flows disrupted.
The death of King Harald V of Norway at the age of 89 on Friday has put the spotlight on one of Europe’s oldest royal dynasties: the House of Glücksburg.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment