{"id":4649,"date":"2025-12-29T08:35:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T08:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/s-koreas-ex-first-lady-accused-of-taking-bribes-meddling-in-state-affairs\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T08:35:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T08:35:22","slug":"s-koreas-ex-first-lady-accused-of-taking-bribes-meddling-in-state-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/s-koreas-ex-first-lady-accused-of-taking-bribes-meddling-in-state-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"S Korea\u2019s ex-first lady accused of taking bribes, meddling in state affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>Kim Keon-hee took more than $200,000 in bribes and illegally intervened in state affairs, South Korean prosecutors say.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A special prosecutor in South Korea has accused the wife of former President Yoon \u200dSuk-yeol of interfering \u200din state affairs in return for expensive valuables and money.<\/p>\n<p>Min Jung-ki\u2019s comments on Monday came a day after he wrapped up a yearlong investigation into Yoon\u2019s brief imposition of martial law and other scandals related to the once-powerful couple.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/29\/n-koreas-kim-oversees-test-launch-of-long-range-cruise\">North Korea\u2019s Kim oversees test launch of long-range cruise missiles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/27\/n-korea-russia-bound-in-blood-of-war-kim-tells-putin-in-new-year-note\">N Korea, Russia bound in \u2018blood\u2019 of war, Kim tells Putin in New Year note<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/26\/japan-govt-greenlights-record-58bn-defence-budget-amid-regional-tension\">Japan gov\u2019t greenlights record $58bn defence budget amid regional tension<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/26\/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-pushes-more-missile-production-as-war-deterrent\">North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un pushes more missile production as \u2018war deterrent\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The prosecution team earlier this month sought \u200ba 15-year prison sentence for former First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who \u200dis under detention and currently on trial for suspected acceptance of bribes for mediation and other charges.<\/p>\n<p>Kim has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>A lower court ruling on Kim is expected on January 28.<\/p>\n<p>Min said Kim\u00a0\u201ctook \u2060advantage of the status of the president\u2019s spouse to receive money and expensive valuables, and has been widely involved in various personnel appointments and nominations\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He said South Korea\u2019s institutions were \u201cseverely undermined by abuses of power\u201d by Kim. Meanwhile, his team alleged that bribes from businesses and politicians received by Kim totalled up to 377.25 million won ($263,000).<\/p>\n<p>Kim\u2019s lawyers slammed the prosecutor\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestigations do not end because one says so, but are eventually completed with evidence in \u200bcourt,\u201d the lawyers said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>They said \u200cthey would work \u201cto ensure that procedural legitimacy and defense rights are thoroughly guaranteed so that facts are not exaggerated or distorted into political framing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecution team has also indicted Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, now on \u200ctrial, after the religious group was suspected of giving Kim valuables, including two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace, as part \u200cof its efforts to win influence.<\/p>\n<p>Han has denied \u2060that she directed her church to bribe Kim.<\/p>\n<p>Kim also allegedly received luxury jewellery, a painting by famed South Korean minimalist painter Lee Ufan, a Dior handbag and a wristwatch, according to the special prosecutor\u2019s team.<\/p>\n<p>Former President Yoon denied that he was aware of these transactions when pressed by investigators, \u201ca claim that many find difficult to accept\u201d, said assistant special prosecutor Kim Hyung-geun.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVarious people who did not have a common denominator with each other visited Kim Keon-hee, not the president, and asked for what they wanted, and gave money \u200cand goods,\u201d the assistant special prosecutor said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a result, their request was realised.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yoon, who was removed from office following his martial law bid, is on trial for suspected masterminding of an insurrection, a charge that could \u200dmean a life sentence or even the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p>He has denied the charges.<\/p>\n<p>A lower court ruling on Yoon is expected early in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kim Keon-hee took more than $200,000 in bribes and illegally intervened in state affairs, South Korean prosecutors say. A special prosecutor in South Korea has accused the wife of former President Yoon \u200dSuk-yeol of interfering \u200din state affairs in return for expensive valuables and money. Min Jung-ki\u2019s comments on Monday came a day after he &#8230; <a title=\"S Korea\u2019s ex-first lady accused of taking bribes, meddling in state affairs\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/s-koreas-ex-first-lady-accused-of-taking-bribes-meddling-in-state-affairs\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about S Korea\u2019s ex-first lady accused of taking bribes, meddling in state affairs\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}