This is the first time in South Korea's history that both the former president and his wife have been put on trial. The South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo said, "The fact that both the former president and his wife have been arrested and are facing charges is itself an embarrassment for the nation.
"Even now, humbly disclosing the truth is the way to atone for your sins before the people," he said. Kim has been accused of wrongdoing by former executives of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church).
He is accused of a total of 16 offences, including receiving a luxury bag from a bank account holder. The special prosecutor investigating these allegations brought Kim in for questioning last month and arrested him on the 13th.
It has been confirmed that she has largely denied the charges. Speaking of Kim, she has been attracting attention since her husband, Yoon, announced his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election.
Meanwhile, suspicions of Kim falsifying her resume surfaced. It was reported that when Kim applied for a professorship at Suwon Women's University in 2006, she had included false resumes and false award records in her application.
After that, one after another, cases of career fraud came to light. In Korea, a competitive society, public opinion is harsh on the careers of influential people and their families, and at the time, the husband of a presidential candidate ran his election campaign on the platform of "fairness."
Because of this, Kim, who was still the wife of a presidential candidate at the time, attracted attention in an unexpected way and was subjected to harsh criticism.
At a press conference held afterwards, Kim said, "I exaggerated and wrote it incorrectly to make it look better.
He admitted to some of the facts, saying, "There are some things," and apologized, saying, "It was so embarrassing." At the press conference, he spoke candidly about his encounter with Yoon, and it was his innocent appearance that earned him the support of voters.
She was well-received. When her husband takes office as president in May 2022, attention was drawn to her every move as First Lady. She has formed an online fan club that is on a par with idol groups.
The number of registered members is still over 80,000. However, various suspicions have emerged about Kim, and Yoon has been severely criticized by the opposition party during his term of office.
This was also one of the reasons for his declining approval ratings. In November last year, Yoon apologized at a press conference, saying, "I have caused concern among the public about the incidents surrounding me. I sincerely apologize."
Kim is suspected of being involved in manipulating the stock prices of an automobile company and of receiving expensive designer bags from an acquaintance.
At the time, the opposition Democratic Party of Korea was trying to pass a bill (Kim Gun-Hee Special Prosecutor Act) that would have allowed a special prosecutor independent of the government to investigate the allegations surrounding Kim.
Yoon then declared "emergency martial law" in December last year. Political and social unrest was widespread, and Yoon was subsequently impeached and removed from office in April this year.
Some believe that the background to Yoon's declaration of "martial law" was the numerous suspicions surrounding his wife, Kim. It has been pointed out that the situation in which his wife was pushed into a corner was the final push that led Yoon to decide to declare martial law.
The special prosecutor, who is conducting investigations independent of the government, is investigating multiple allegations surrounding Kim and indicted him on the 29th of last month. Kim was indicted five times by the special prosecutor before being indicted.
He has refused to make most statements during questioning. He has completely denied any involvement in some of the allegations, and is expected to plead not guilty at trial. Meanwhile, the news agency Yonhap News reported, "Kim is the culprit.
The total amount of profits gained from the crimes is estimated to be 1.03 billion won (approximately 110 million yen)." After his indictment, Kim released a statement saying, "I am truly sorry for causing concern to the public.
"Every day is just painful. Just as the moonlight shines brightly on the darkest night, I too want to endure this time by looking into my own truth and my heart," she said, revealing her feelings.
Meanwhile, her husband, Yoon, is currently on trial for treason, and the former president and his wife will be on trial together.
During her break, she reportedly confided, "I wonder if I'll be able to live with my husband again. Will I be able to see him again?"
2025/09/01 13:06 KST
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