Ex-first lady set to appear for questioning over corruption allegations

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee waits at a polling station in Seoul, June 3, to cast her ballot in the presidential election. Joint Press Corps

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee is set to appear before a special counsel Wednesday to be questioned about her alleged involvement in stock manipulation schemes, election meddling and other allegations.

The wife of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been summoned to appear at special counsel Min Joong-ki's office at 10 a.m. in what will be the first time a first lady has publicly appeared as a suspect in a criminal investigation.

Kim faces allegations of participating in a stock price manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea, from 2009 to 2012, meddling in candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-election and 2024 general elections, and receiving luxury gifts from the Unification Church through a shaman in exchange for business favors.

The special counsel team is tasked with investigating a total of 16 criminal allegations against the former first lady, making it likely she will be summoned again for further questioning.

"She will go in there and testify to the way things are," Kim's legal defense team told Yonhap News Agency.

In 2004, former President Chun Doo-hwan's wife, Lee Soon-ja, was questioned by prosecutors in a slush fund case, but the fact only became known afterward.

In 2009, former President Roh Moo-hyun's wife, Kwon Yang-sook, was also questioned by prosecutors as a witness in a corruption case, but it was revealed the next day.