Published: 10:00am, 30 Aug 2025Updated: 10:05am, 30 Aug 2025
The indictment of former first lady Kim Keon-hee on corruption charges has thrown a spotlight on the collapse of institutional checks during her husband’s presidency, prompting fresh calls to strengthen oversight and transparency measures.
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The wife of former president Yoon Suk-yeol was charged on Friday with stock manipulation, bribery and the receipt of illicit political funds by a team of investigators led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki.
This is the first time in South Korea’s history that a former presidential couple has been arrested and brought to trial on criminal charges.
“Kim is the first former first lady arrested and indicted for corruption, adding a unique stain to the country’s history of shame,” Choi Jin, director of the Institute of Presidential Leadership, told This Week in Asia.
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South Korean ex-first lady Kim Keon-hee arrested amid bribery probe
South Korean ex-first lady Kim Keon-hee arrested amid bribery probe
Prosecutors allege Kim used her outsize influence over Yoon to intervene in personnel appointments and election nominations. “She was acting freely outside any institutional surveillance or checks on presidential relatives,” Choi said, noting that discussion of her misconduct was effectively taboo within Yoon’s officialdom.
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