Special counsel team extends probe into ex-first lady by 30 days
Kim Keon Hee, center, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is approached by reporters as she appears at the office of special counsel Min Joong-ki's team in Seoul, Aug. 6. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
A special counsel team said Tuesday it will extend its investigation into corruption allegations surrounding former first lady Kim Keon Hee by 30 days.
The team led by special counsel Min Joong-ki said the extension will be effective Wednesday and comply with the relevant law that allows a 30-day extension at his discretion.
Min's team has been widening its probe of Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, since indicting her last month on charges of corruption and bribery. She has been held in custody since Aug. 13.
A formal investigation will begin this week into allegations she helped cover up a bullying case involving the daughter of the presidential secretary for protocol in July 2023, assistant special counsel Kim Hyong-kun said during a press briefing.
Kim Seung-hee, the then secretary, resigned later that year amid allegations that his daughter, who was then in third grade in elementary school, had assaulted a student one year younger than her and damaged her cornea.
The former first lady was found to have held an eight-minute phone call with the vice education minister immediately after the alleged assault.
The special counsel team said it has summoned an official on a school violence committee involved in imposing a 10-day suspension on the daughter.
The official has been asked to appear as a reference Thursday.