South Korea’s Former First Lady Suspected of Taking ¥20 Million in Luxury Goods

“Will I ever be able to live with my husband again?”

This is what Kim Keon-hee (52), wife of former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, reportedly confided to her legal team after being arrested on August 12 on charges including influence peddling and bribery.

Kim, a figure drawing attention not only in South Korea but also in Japan, faces no fewer than 16 charges (her husband Yoon faces 12). These include stock price manipulation, illegal interference in ruling party candidate selection, and granting favors to religious organizations from which she allegedly received money and goods.

What is most serious, however, are the allegations that in return for appointing relatives to high-ranking government positions, she accepted an array of luxury brand items from supporters. These are believed to total more than 20 million yen, including a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, a Tiffany brooch, and Chanel handbags.

“I made my husband president.”

Shinichi Hen, editor-in-chief of Korea Report and an expert on South Korean society, explains:

“Before Yoon became president, Kim said she would ‘devote herself entirely to supporting her husband’ and even refrained from going out with him. But once Yoon assumed the presidency, she began appearing in public alongside him during overseas trips and actively participating in meetings with dignitaries. She suddenly found herself in the national spotlight, and her fan club, Gonhi Love (I Love Gonhi), gained about 80,000 members.

Behind this change in attitude lay the ‘gap’ between her and Yoon. When they married in March 2012, Yoon was just an ordinary prosecutor earning about 2 million yen a year, while Kim, who ran an event company and also taught at a university, had assets in the hundreds of millions of yen. Since she had been financially supporting Yoon with her own money, Kim likely felt, ‘I’m the one who made him president.’ That sense of pride may have led to her arrogance, which in turn pushed her into accepting luxury goods and meddling in politics.”

However, after Yoon’s downfall and testimony from those who gave her luxury items, Kim was abruptly stripped of her position of influence. During questioning by prosecutors, she refused to answer most inquiries. Assigned inmate number 4398, she is now said to be living in a roughly 4-tatami-sized room in detention, handed only underwear and towels, without air conditioning.

The true meaning behind her words to her defense team.

A miserable fate seems to await her. Mr. Byon continues:

“If she is indicted for accepting numerous luxury brand items, it will likely fall under the heavier charge of bribery rather than just influence peddling. And it’s not just one case—there are 16 charges in total. If all are combined, a sentence of five or ten years in prison won’t be enough. Life imprisonment is a very real possibility. Her words to her defense team, ‘Will I ever be able to live with my husband again?’ (as mentioned earlier), may reflect her grim outlook on her own future.”

There are many examples of South Korean presidents meeting tragic ends. Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 1997 for illegal slush funds, and Roh Moo-hyun took his own life in May 2009. But for a First Lady like Mrs. Kim to face as many as 16 charges and the prospect of such a heavy punishment is unheard of. What’s more, the arrest of both husband and wife is the first case in South Korean history. This shows just how deeply entrenched Mrs. Kim’s misdeeds are.

Both in South Korea and abroad, attention is focused on this series of incidents shaking Korean society. Shocked by the sudden collapse of her own life, Mrs. Kim has reportedly refused to eat most of her meals since being taken into custody.