Kim Keon Hee likely to be indicted in late August
The special counsel team tasked with probing allegations involving the former first lady announced Wednesday that Kim's detention period has been extended until Aug. 31. Among the ongoing probes, three major allegations were deemed to require further investigation, and the team said time was necessary as the former first lady has continued to deny allegations and exercise her right to remain silent.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, a prosecutor can extend a suspect's detention period once, not exceeding 10 days, following the initial 10-day detention period, with the permission of the court. The court issued a grant to detain Kim on Aug. 12 over evidence-tampering concerns linked to multiple charges against her. Investigators can keep her detained if they indict her and proceed with a trial.
The special counsel originally requested that Kim appear for questioning Wednesday, but Kim submitted a written statement for her health-related absence. Considering the circumstances, the team rescheduled the questioning session for 2 p.m. Thursday, to which Kim's legal representatives have agreed.
The special counsel team reportedly plans to question the former first lady regarding her connections to shaman Jeon Seong-bae, also known as Geon Jin, and the Unification Church.
Jeon, who previously held a minor leadership role in Yoon Suk Yeol's 2022 presidential campaign, is believed to have influenced decision-making and lobbying efforts post-election. He is also suspected of acting as an intermediary for Kim Keon Hee in alleged bribery schemes.
The special counsel team alleges that Jeon received a diamond necklace worth 60 million won and two Chanel handbags from a high-ranking Unification Church official to pass on to Kim. The church official, surnamed Yoon, sought to gain Kim's favor for projects in the church's interests, including business operations in Cambodia.
The team has also raised suspicions that a large number of Unification Church members joined the People Power Party and that the alleged tripartite corruption ties also included Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a former People Power Party floor leader.
Jeon and the Unification Church official are thought to have interfered in the People Power Party's leadership race by enlisting Unification Church members to join the party and support Kweon's bid for floor leader in 2023.
After acquiring a testimony from Yoon that the church provided funds for Kweon in a questioning session on July 30, the special counsel team made two separate attempts to carry out search and seizure operations of the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Aug. 13 and Tuesday.
The team tried to secure the People Power Party membership list, but the investigators withdrew from the building as the party refused to cooperate in the warrant execution. It insisted that the membership list could not be provided since it contained personal information.
The Political Parties Act stipulates that authorities can examine the member list if it is a criminal investigation and the court issues a warrant. There are protective measures to ensure that investigators do not disclose any information regarding the identities of party members.
Kim has been taken into custody on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act, the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, and bribery.
If the special counsel indicts her on criminal charges, Kim will be the first former first lady to face a criminal trial as a defendant.
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'In Korea's perspective, joining the CPTPP is simpler than pursuing a bilateral FTA,' said professor Lee. 'It's a high-level agreement, and it's easier because Korea just needs to enter an already established framework. But for the Korea-Japan FTA, many detailed aspects need to be resolved.' Calls for Seoul to join CPTPP have grown in recent months, with the topic likely to be on the agenda at the bilateral summit. During the latest Korea-Japan Forum held in Seoul on Wednesday, an annual forum launched in 1993 to promote high-level talks between the two countries, the participants agreed on the need for Korea to join the CPTPP. 'With Trump's second term and strategic competition between the US and China, there is a growing consensus on the need for close cooperation between Korea and Japan,' said Yu Myung-hwan, former foreign minister and chair of the Korea-Japan Forum. 'As the global economic order is being reshaped, the two countries must exercise joint leadership in defending the rules-based free trade system. At this forum, all participants agreed on the need for Korea to join the CPTPP at the earliest.' Skeptics warn of the risks of closer economic ties. Korea ran a $17.9 billion trade deficit with Japan in 2024, sparking fears that further opening up could increase the imbalance. A recent report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade cautioned that an FTA at CPTPP-level market opening standards would likely increase Korean imports of cars, petrochemicals and electronics more than it would boost exports to Japan, potentially worsening the trade deficit. 'Measures are needed to prepare for the negative effects of widening trade deficits from a potential Korea-Japan FTA,' Choi Jeong-hwan, research fellow at KIIET, said in the report. 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