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2w ago

Kim Keon-hee Begins First In-Custody Interrogation After Detention

Investigators plan to question her on contradictory explanations for the Van Cleef necklace and a possible quid-pro-quo involving a Vacheron watch tied to a presidential office contract

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A justice ministry vehicle carrying jailed former first lady Kim Keon Hee enters the office of a special counsel team in Seoul on Aug. 14, 2025, two days after she was served an arrest warrant over corruption allegations. (Yonhap)
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South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Overview

  • Kim Keon-hee arrived at the special counsel’s Jongno district office on Aug. 14 for her first in-custody interrogation since a Seoul court ordered her detention on evidence-tampering grounds.
  • A judge at Seoul Central District Court authorized her pretrial detention on Aug. 12, citing risks she would destroy or tamper with evidence, marking the first time South Korea has jailed both a former president and first lady together.
  • Prosecutors have seized the authentic Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake pendant and secured testimony from Seohee Construction that it purchased and gifted the necklace to Kim.
  • The special counsel is probing inconsistencies in Kim’s accounts of the necklace’s origin alongside an inquiry into a Vacheron Constantin watch allegedly linked to a businessman’s robotics contract with the presidential office.
  • Investigators have broadened raids to include the People Power Party headquarters and the interior design firm 21gram as they pursue allegations of stock manipulation, nomination meddling and state contract irregularities.