logo
Special counsel summons ex-FM Park in probe into ex-first lady

Special counsel summons ex-FM Park in probe into ex-first lady

Korea Herald3 days ago
A special counsel team said Monday it has summoned former Foreign Minister Park Jin to appear for questioning over corruption allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee.
Park has been asked to appear as a reference witness at the office of special counsel Min Joong-ki at 2 p.m. to undergo questioning about the circumstances that led to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife's surprise trip to Ukraine in July 2023.
Min's team is looking into possible links between the Ukraine visit, during which Yoon discussed reconstruction projects with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a sharp increase in the share price of midsized builder Sambu Construction Co. around that time.
Park is also expected to be questioned about the Yoon administration's decision to increase the loan limit for Cambodia amid allegations the former first lady backed the Unification Church's participation in official development assistance projects in the country in exchange for a luxury necklace and other expensive gifts. (Yonhap)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Rift over relations to Yoon shapes People Power Party leadership race
Rift over relations to Yoon shapes People Power Party leadership race

Korea Herald

time6 hours ago

  • Korea Herald

Rift over relations to Yoon shapes People Power Party leadership race

The main opposition People Power Party's leadership race has taken shape following a preliminary primary on Thursday, with a line drawn between two candidates seeking to restore ties with impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol and the other two calling for a clean break. According to the party, the candidates who advanced to the final vote scheduled for Aug. 20-21 are former Labor Minister and presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo along with Reps. Ahn Cheol-soo, Jang Dong-hyeok and Cho Kyoung-tae. First-term Rep. Joo Jin-woo was eliminated. The party remains fractured between those advocating for Yoon's return to the party and those who view his lingering influence as a liability, following Yoon's ouster over his controversial Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration. Kim and Jang, who opposed Yoon's impeachment earlier this year, are rallying support from Yoon loyalists and emphasizing the need for conservative unity. In contrast, Ahn and Cho, who backed the impeachment, are advocating internal reform and seeking to distance the party from far-right figures associated with the former president. Even before the primary results were announced, the candidates had already begun reinforcing their stances on Yoon. Kim appeared on a conservative YouTube channel co-hosted by Jeon Han-gil, a celebrity history lecturer-turned-prominent right-wing commentator. "I don't support (the Dec. 3) martial law declaration," Kim said, "but no one was killed or injured because of it." He added, "If Yoon returns to the party, we must accept him." Jang, speaking on YTN Radio on Thursday morning, voiced frustration with what he described as the party's tendency to sever ties with anyone aligned with Yoon in response to criticism. "When someone within the party is criticized, the party immediately talks about cutting them off," he said. "But without welcoming support from figures like Yoon, we cannot grow stronger." Candidates from the opposing camp responded sharply. Ahn, a four-term lawmaker, accused Kim of reversing course on several public pledges. "What happened to the apologies Kim and I made to the public during the presidential campaign?" he wrote on Facebook. Ahn went on to liken Kim to Pinocchio, citing a pattern of broken promises — including Kim's earlier vow to unify with Han Duck-soo ahead of the June 3 presidential election, his pledge not to seek the party chair position and his previous expression of regret over Yoon's martial law decree, which Ahn said Kim has now walked back. Six-term lawmaker Cho also denounced Kim's remarks, saying, "He claims no one was hurt, so there's no crime? That logic is absurd. Kim should step down and leave politics." Ahn and Cho have framed the leadership race as a test of whether the party can rebuild credibility by cutting ties with those spreading conspiracy theories about recent elections — most of whom, they argue, are Yoon supporters who have undermined the conservative bloc's identity — as well as with hard-line loyalists aligned with the former president. The preliminary round was conducted with a 50:50 weighting between votes from party members who had paid dues in the past three months and results from a nationwide public opinion poll. The party declined to disclose the vote tallies, citing concerns that early figures could affect the outcome of the main race. The results of the final vote are due on Aug. 22, with an 80 percent weighting from party members and 20 percent from public polling. If no candidate secures a majority, a runoff between the top two contenders will take place Aug. 24-25.

Yoon's lawyers say ex-president injured in arrest attempt
Yoon's lawyers say ex-president injured in arrest attempt

Korea Herald

time9 hours ago

  • Korea Herald

Yoon's lawyers say ex-president injured in arrest attempt

Former president again refuses to be taken for questioning; lawyers claim attempts to detain him illegal Legal representatives of Yoon Suk Yeol claimed Thursday that the former South Korean leader was injured by what they assess as an "illegal" bid to enforce an arrest warrant for him regarding the ongoing criminal investigation into his wife Kim Keon Hee. Hours after the prosecution's second attempt to detain Yoon was thwarted Thursday morning, Yoon's lawyers said at a press conference that 10 officials of the special counsel team tried to forcibly get him into a car by lifting the chair that he was sitting on. They say that Yoon fell on the floor during the process and was injured. "There have been several cases in which a suspect, against whom an arrest warrant had been issued, refuses investigation, but there had not been one case in which (the enforcement of warrant) was conducted via physically dragging a person," the lawyers said in a press conference in front of the Seoul High Court. Yoon's side has maintained that the attempt to forcibly detain him was illegal, even though the court has issued a warrant for his official arrest. They claimed it was a deliberate attempt by the prosecution to humiliate the former leader. The former South Korean president has been refusing to cooperate with the ongoing criminal investigation, and the special counsel team said Thursday it had decided not to arrest Yoon due to adamant resistance from the suspect. It was the second failed attempt to arrest Yoon by the special counsel team looking into Kim. Yoon has been held at the Seoul Detention Center in relation to the ongoing investigation of the Dec. 3, 2024, imposition of martial law for the last month. He was impeached and removed as president and faces charges of insurrection and power abuse. He has been refusing to comply with the related probe and trials since being detained last month. Yoon has been summoned by the prosecution to give testimony related to accusations related to the Kim Keon Hee case, including accusations that he received illegal help in his campaign from a local pollster in exchange for helping a former member of his People Power Party secure a nomination in the parliamentary election. Due to Yoon's repeated refusal to cooperate with the ongoing investigation concerning his wife, officials undertook measures to forcibly bring him into custody. A 2013 Supreme Court precedent shows that suspects who refuse orders to cooperate with an investigation can be forcibly taken in for the probe. But footnotes attached to the Criminal Procedure Act published in 2022 state that if the suspect is in a state of undress for the purpose of refusing an investigation, he or she cannot be forced into custody. This is widely presumed to be the reason why Yoon was lying on the floor in only his underwear as he refused officers trying to take him into custody.

Rift over ties to Yoon shapes People Power Party leadership race
Rift over ties to Yoon shapes People Power Party leadership race

Korea Herald

time9 hours ago

  • Korea Herald

Rift over ties to Yoon shapes People Power Party leadership race

The main opposition People Power Party's leadership race has taken shape, with a line drawn between two candidates seeking to restore ties with impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol and the other two calling for a clean break, among the four contenders after a preliminary primary was finalized Thursday. According to the party, former Labor Minister and presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo along with Reps. Ahn Cheol-soo, Jang Dong-hyeok and Cho Kyoung-tae have advanced to the final vote scheduled for Aug. 22. First-term Rep. Joo Jin-woo was eliminated. The party has remained fractured between those advocating for Yoon's return to the party and those who view his lingering influence as a liability, following Yoon's ouster over his controversial Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration. Kim and Jang, who opposed Yoon's impeachment earlier this year, are rallying support from Yoon loyalists and emphasizing the need for conservative unity. In contrast, Ahn and Cho, who backed the impeachment, are advocating internal reform and seeking to distance the party from far-right figures associated with the former president. Even before the primary results were announced, the candidates were already engaging in activities reinforcing their stances on Yoon. Kim appeared on a conservative YouTube channel co-hosted by Jeon Han-gil, a celebrity history lecturer-turned-prominent right-wing commentator. "I don't support (the Dec. 3) martial law imposition," Kim said, "but no one was killed or injured because of it." He added, "If Yoon returns to the party, we must accept him." Jang, speaking on YTN Radio on Thursday morning, voiced frustration with what he described as the party's tendency to sever ties with anyone aligned with Yoon in response to criticism. "When someone within the party is criticized, the party immediately talks about cutting them off," he said. "But without welcoming support from such figures like Yoon, we cannot grow stronger." Candidates from the opposing camp responded sharply. Ahn, a four-term lawmaker, accused Kim of reversing course on several public pledges. "What happened to the apologies Kim and I made to the public during the presidential campaign?" he wrote on Facebook. Ahn went on to liken Kim to Pinocchio, citing a pattern of broken promises — including Kim's earlier vow to unify with Han Duck-soo ahead of the June 3 presidential election, his pledge not to seek the party chair position and his previous expression of regret over the martial law, which Ahn said Kim has now walked back. Six-time lawmaker Cho also denounced Kim's remarks, saying, "He claims no one was hurt, so there's no crime? That logic is absurd. Kim should step down and leave politics." Ahn and Cho have framed the leadership race as a test of whether the party can rebuild credibility by cutting ties with conspiracy theorists over national elections and hard-line loyalists associated with Yoon. The preliminary round was conducted with a 50:50 weighting between votes from party members who had paid dues in the past three months and results from a nationwide public opinion poll. The party declined to disclose the vote tallies, citing concerns that early figures could affect the outcome of the main race. The final vote, to be held Aug. 20-21, will be determined with an 80 percent weighting from party members and 20 percent from public polling. If no candidate secures a majority, a runoff between the top two contenders will take place Aug. 24-25.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store