MBABANE:Min Jung-ki, a Special Prosecutor in South Korea has accused the wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol of interfering in State affairs in return for expensive valuables and money, Aljazeera reported.
Min Jung-ki’s comments on Monday came a day after he wrapped up a yearlong investigation into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law and other scandals related to the once-powerful couple.
But the prosecution team earlier this month sought a 15-year prison sentence for former First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who is under detention and currently on trial for suspected acceptance of bribes for mediation and other charges.
Kim has denied any wrongdoing but a lower court ruling on Kim is expected on January 28.
Min said Kim “took advantage of the status of the president’s spouse to receive money and expensive valuables, and has been widely involved in various personnel appointments and nominations”.
He said South Korea’s institutions were “severely undermined by abuses of power” by Kim. Meanwhile, his team alleged that bribes from businesses and politicians received by Kim totalled up to 377.25 million won ($263,000).
Kim’s lawyers slammed the prosecutor’s findings.
“Investigations do not end because one says so, but are eventually completed with evidence in court,” the lawyers said in a statement on Monday.
They said they would work “to ensure that procedural legitimacy and defense rights are thoroughly guaranteed so that facts are not exaggerated or distorted into political framing”.
The prosecution team has also indicted Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, now on trial, after the religious group was suspected of giving Kim valuables, including two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace, as part of its efforts to win influence.
South Korea’s former first lady, Kim Keon-hee, wife of impeached ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol, arrives in a court to attend a hearing in Seoul, August 12, 2025 [Jung Yeon-je/Pool).