Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee are the first presidential couple to be simultaneously arrested over criminal allegations
A South Korean court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of the wife of jailed former President Yoon Suk-yeol as investigators seek to charge her over various suspected crimes, including bribery, stock manipulation and meddling in the selection of a candidate.
In granting a special prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant near midnight, the Seoul Central District Court said Kim Keon-hee poses a risk of destroying evidence.
The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes launched under Seoul’s new liberal government targeting the presidency of Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office in April and rearrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in December.
While Yoon’s self-inflicted downfall extended a decades-long run of South Korean presidencies ending badly, he and Kim are the first presidential couple to be simultaneously arrested over criminal allegations.
