Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee is under scrutiny following revelations that she used a secure presidential phone line to speak with a top aide just weeks before being questioned in a major stock price manipulation and bribery probe.

The calls represent a significant development in the ongoing investigation led by independent counsel Min Joong-ki into Kim Keon Hee’s potential involvement in state affairs and possible preferential treatment by prosecutors as Korean media reported.

This comes after confirmation on Monday (16 June) that Kim Joo-hyun also used a secure line to speak with Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung last October — around the time prosecutors dropped charges against the first lady in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.

Opposition lawmakers argue the calls may have been part of an effort to coordinate a response to the investigation.

“The use of a secure phone by Kim Keon Hee supports suspicions that she was involved in managing state affairs,” said Kim Hyun-jung, spokesperson for the Democratic Party. “Kim Joo-hyun, in his role as senior civil affairs secretary, appears to have acted as a legal proxy for both President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Keon Hee to suppress investigations.”

Following confirmation of the secure calls between Shim and Kim Joo-hyun, the special counsel team’s probe may extend to the prosecution.

Shim has denied discussing any criminal cases with Kim Joo-hyun, saying on Monday, “There was no call related to a prosecutorial case.”

Ex-First Lady Kim Keon Hee has been hospitalized at Asan Medical Center in Seoul for severe depression, according to sources in the legal and medical communities. Her health condition was reported to not be critical.

Independent counsel Min Joong-ki said he learned of her hospitalization through media reports and would determine next steps after appointing deputy prosecutors.

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