South Korean First Lady not indicted despite allegations, sparking growing criticism of prosecutors

On the 17th of this month, South Korean prosecutors indicted Kim Gun-Hee, wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was suspected of involvement in a stock price investigation into the imported car dealership German Motors.
The prosecution decided not to indict Kim on the charge, saying, "It is difficult to prove that Kim was involved in the crime." Earlier this month, the prosecution also indicted Kim on suspicion of illegally receiving a luxury brand bag from an acquaintance, Dior.
According to Yonhap News, South Korea's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, filed an impeachment suit against Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung on the 18th in protest against the prosecution's decision not to indict Kim.
The government has decided to submit a follow-up motion. Yonhap reported that "the impeachment motion against Shim is expected to pass." Kim is accused of illegally raising stock prices for Deutsche Motors AG between 2009 and 2012.
In April 2020, he was indicted by the Open Democratic Party, the predecessor of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, on suspicion of involvement in the case of the 2019 election. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office questioned Kim in July of this year.
Kim was the first wife of a sitting president to be questioned by prosecutors. The questioning was conducted at a presidential security agency facility, which drew criticism at the time for special treatment.
As a result of the investigation, the local prosecutors' office announced on the 17th of this month that they had decided not to indict Kim. The reason for this was that "after a thorough investigation into whether Kim was involved in stock price manipulation, we found that he
It is not recognized that he conspired with the principal perpetrators of the crime, recognized or foresaw the principal perpetrators' crime of manipulating stock prices, entrusted the management of his accounts to them, or placed orders to buy or sell stocks, thereby participating in the crime.
In September 2022, allegations emerged that Kim had received a luxury Dior bag from a Korean pastor living in the United States, and he was charged with bribery and other crimes.
The prosecution has been investigating whether there is any suspicion, but earlier this month, it said it had "determined that Kim offered any favors in return for receiving the bag and other items."
The prosecution decided not to indict Kim. In an editorial dated the 2nd, the South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh, referring to President Yoon's past as the Prosecutor General, said, "We must protect the wife of the President, who is a former member of the Prosecutor General, at all costs."
"I feel sorry for the prosecutors trying to do this. I hope that in the future, the prosecutors will refrain from using the words 'fairness and common sense' in front of the public," he said, sharply criticizing the prosecutors.
Meanwhile, the opposition party has called for a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations against Kim, and has submitted a bill to the National Assembly to establish a special prosecutor.
The bill was put to a vote, but President Yoon vetoed it. A vote was held again at the plenary session on the 4th of this month, and the bill was rejected.
With the indictment being decided, Yonhap News reported, "Criticism is likely to grow that the prosecution gave Kim a free pass." The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea filed a motion to impeach Prosecutor General Shim Woo-yeon on the 18th.
The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to submit a bill to the National Assembly to impeach the prosecutors.
Shim, who served as vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, was appointed prosecutor general in September this year.
President Yoon appointed Shim because of his outstanding abilities in the key areas of the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution.
The Democratic Party lawmaker pointed out that "the entire prosecution organization is dying because of the selfish desire to become the prosecutor general, the chief prosecutor of the high prosecution, or the prosecutor general himself," and demanded that Shim "thoroughly investigate the allegations against Kim."
"I'm sure that the prosecutors have pledged to deal with it," he said, and asked, "Did they pledge their loyalty to the president?" Shim expressed his displeasure at the question, saying, "That's such an insulting question."
"Do you think that President Yoon and his wife are pursuing this investigation with the intention of getting promoted?" he countered. Meanwhile, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said in an editorial dated the 18th that "all of these problems are of their own making."
"If Kim Jong Un had only been faithful to providing support to the nation as she promised to the people during the presidential election, nothing would have happened in the first place," he said.
"But he unconditionally protected and defended the issue, which alienated the public. This led to a crushing defeat in the general election, and now the country has lost all momentum in politics," he said.
According to the results of a poll released by the polling company Gallup Korea on the 18th, President Yoon's approval rating was 22%, down 1 point from the previous survey (September 24-26).
Among the reasons for disapproval, "issues surrounding Kim Jong Un" was the second most popular at 14%. When asked about Kim's public activities, 67% said they should be reduced, while 30% said they were fine with the status quo.
The survey also asked about the pros and cons of introducing a special bill to have a special prosecutor independent of the government investigate the allegations against Kim. 63% said "It should be introduced," and 26% said "It should be introduced."
"It's not necessary" was 26%.