South Korea: Prosecution to question ex-first lady Keon Hee over influence-peddling scandal

Seoul, May 12 (IANS) Prosecutors in South Korea have ordered former first lady Kim Keon Hee to appear for questioning this week over allegations of influence-peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections, legal sources said on Monday.

Kim, the wife of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, was recently sent a summons by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office to appear as a suspect on Wednesday, according to the sources.

Kim faces charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Political Funds Act in connection with allegations that she helped former People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Young-sun win the party's nomination for the 2022 by-elections via Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, who in return conducted free public opinion polls favorable to Yoon ahead of the 2022 presidential election, Yonhap news agency reported.

The former first lady has additionally been accused of involvement in the PPP's candidate nominations for the 2022 local elections and the 2024 general elections.

Kim has yet to respond to the summons.

"We have not discussed our official position yet," a lawyer for the former first lady told Yonhap News Agency.

Prosecutors are reportedly considering requesting a warrant to detain Kim in the event she defies repeated summonses without legitimate grounds.

Earlier in 2025, Kim Keon-hee, faced mounting public scrutiny over her suspected involvement in the country’s short-lived martial law decree, with allegations of election meddling and text messages sent to an official on the eve of the December debacle.

The opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) claimed that the looming threat of a public revelation over the first couple’s alleged interference in the nomination process for a local parliamentary by-election in 2022 had pressured former president Yoon Suk-yeol into launching the long-planned action.

--IANS

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