South Korea Ex-First Lady Joins Husband In Jail, Begins Prison Life In Solitary Cell After First Pretrial Detention Warrant For Corruption

• She joins her husband, ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is in jail, facing trial

For the first time as a former first lady, Kim Keon Hee was officially admitted to a general cell at Seoul Southern Detention Center on Wednesday morning. She was assigned inmate number 4398.

She joins her husband, ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is in jail, facing trial following his ouster in April over a botched bid to impose martial law in December.

Yoon is on trial on charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

The former president, who also faces charges of abuse of power among others, has denied wrongdoing and refused to attend trial hearings or be questioned by prosecutors.

Ms Kim appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Tuesday for a pretrial detention hearing. Since then, she had been held in the suspect holding room at the detention center.

A detention warrant was issued around Tuesday midnight. Following the court order, the special prosecutor’s team, led by Min Joong-ki, delivered the warrant to the detention center, which proceeded with taking Kim into custody. Due to her status as the wife of a former president and concerns over possible incidents inside the facility, she was assigned to a single-occupancy cell.

In line with protocol, officials verified Kim’s personal details and conducted a brief interview before performing a detailed physical examination. She was then issued a light green uniform, typically worn by female detainees in the summer, and given her inmate number. A mug shot was taken for identification, after which she received undergarments, a towel, a toothbrush, a tray and plastic utensils before being escorted to her cell.

Her solitary cell measures approximately 6.56 square meters (70.6 square feet) and is equipped with a folding mattress, blanket, storage cabinet, television, multipurpose desk, washbasin and toilet. She is permitted to exercise for up to one hour per day, excluding Sundays and public holidays. While she will use a communal bathhouse, the facility is expected to coordinate her bathing times separately from other detainees.

Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after her pretrial detention hearing ends on Aug. 12 afternoon. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

She may meet with her legal counsel at any time during work hours. Her exercise schedules will also likely be coordinated to avoid overlap with other detainees.

Meals are the same as those served to other detainees in the holding cells. Three meals a day are provided, each consisting of rice and three side dishes. For breakfast on Wednesday, bread with strawberry jam, milk, frankfurter sausage and salad were served. Lunch included pork kimchi jjigae (stew), sweet-and-sour mandu (dumplings), stir-fried zucchini with salted shrimp and young radish kimchi. Dinner will feature namul (seasoned vegetables), a fried egg, young summer radish kimchi and cucumber naengguk (cold soup). However, Kim reportedly refused to eat.

All protection and security services provided by the Presidential Security Service have been fully suspended following the execution of her detention warrant, which transferred her custody to the correctional authorities. Under the current Act on the Treatment of Former Presidents, security can be extended to family members of former presidents removed from office through impeachment, but with both former President Yoon and Kim now in custody, such services are no longer deemed necessary.

The charges against Kim, punishable by years in prison, range from stock fraud to bribery and illegal influence peddling that have implicated business owners, religious figures and a political power broker.

She has been accused of breaking the law over an incident in which she wore a luxury Van Cleef pendant reportedly worth more than 60 million won ($43,000) while attending a NATO summit with her husband in 2022.

The item was not listed in the couple’s financial disclosure as required by law, according to the charge.

Kim is also accused of receiving two Chanel bags together valued at 20 million won and a diamond necklace from a religious group as a bribe in return for influence favourable to its business interests.

The prosecution sought Kim’s arrest because of the risk of her destroying evidence and interfering with the investigation, a spokesperson for the special prosecutor’s team told a press briefing after Tuesday’s hearing.

The court accepted the argument on the risk of destroying evidence, Yonhap news reported.

The spokesperson, Oh Jeong-hee, said Kim had told prosecutors the pendant she wore was a fake bought 20 years ago in Hong Kong.

The prosecution said it was genuine, however, and given by a domestic construction company for Kim to wear at the summit, Oh said.

Kim’s lawyers did not immediately comment on Tuesday but they have previously denied the accusations against her and dismissed as groundless speculation news reports about some of the gifts she allegedly received.

Written with agency reports