August 13, 2025
SEOUL – The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday issued a warrant to detain former first lady Kim Keon Hee over evidence-tampering concerns linked to multiple charges against her.
The Seoul court approved the arrest warrant requested by the special counsel team investigating Kim for her alleged involvement in the stock price manipulation of imported car dealer Deutsch Motors, a bribery case and influence-peddling in the 2022 by-elections.
Kim attended a court hearing Tuesday morning where she reportedly denied all charges against her. The hearing concluded after about four hours, and the court issued Kim’s warrant nine hours later, after reviewing arguments presented by the special counsel team and Kim’s legal representatives.
The special counsel submitted an 848-page report to the court earlier to support its arguments, and reportedly highlighted concerns over possible destruction of evidence if Kim were not detained. Kim’s lawyers, however, pointed to her compliance with questioning and claimed detention would be unfair due to her poor health.
The special counsel also added that Kim made her own five-minute testimony toward the end of the hearing.
After the hearing concluded at 2:35 p.m., the former first lady exited the court building without answering any questions and was taken to the Seoul Southern Detention Center in Guro-gu, western Seoul. Kim will be held at the center’s waiting cell until she is admitted to a detention cell on Wednesday.
With the court-issued warrant, Kim became the first former first lady to be in custody. This also marks the first time a presidential couple has been jailed simultaneously in Korea. Kim’s husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is currently under arrest at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.
The court’s decision comes five days after the special counsel team investigating multiple allegations against Kim — led by Min Joong-ki — filed for a warrant against the former first lady after questioning conducted on Aug. 6.
