"Kim Gunhee Was the Greatest Risk Since Yoon Sukyeol's Prosecution Days"...Why He Missed 'Countless Chances to Cut Ties'

From Prosecutor General’s Wife to Detained Suspect
The Fall of Kim Gunhee
Legal Community: "Kim Has Been the Greatest Risk Since Yoon Was in the Prosecution"
Consistent Denials and Shifting Explanations... Now a Detained Suspect

Yoon Seokyeol's wife, Kim Gunhee, is coming out after the detention hearing (warrant review) held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 12th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

"Kim Gunhee has been the greatest risk since former President Yoon Sukyeol was at the prosecution."

This is what a former high-ranking prosecutor, who was once close to the couple, said after Kim Gunhee was arrested on charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act.

Kim Gunhee, who was previously an exhibition planner, made her first official public appearance when Yoon Sukyeol was appointed Prosecutor General. As the wife of the Prosecutor General, she drew attention, and suspicions began to surface that she was involved in the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation case.

As Yoon Sukyeol clashed with the Moon Jaein administration, suspicions surrounding Kim Gunhee snowballed. The allegations against her reached their peak when Yoon ran for president. Among all presidential candidates in history, Kim Gunhee was the only spouse to become the main target of political attacks instead of the candidate himself.

In December 2021, ahead of the presidential election, Kim Gunhee made a public apology and promised the nation, saying, "If my husband becomes president, I will devote myself solely to the role of a wife." However, even after Yoon Sukyeol was elected, there were rumors in political and government circles that Kim Gunhee was referred to as 'V0,' a figure even higher than 'V1,' which denotes the president.

Then, in June 2022, when she accompanied Yoon on an overseas trip to attend the NATO Summit, a necklace she wore became a subject of controversy. The necklace, worth about 60 million won and sold by Van Cleef & Arpels, was said to have been omitted from her asset disclosure. At the time, the presidential office explained that it had been borrowed from an acquaintance. However, right before Kim Gunhee's warrant review, a confession letter was submitted to the special prosecutor by a representative of Seohui Construction, stating that the necklace had been gifted to Kim Gunhee. Until the truth was revealed, Kim Gunhee and her camp kept changing their explanation, at one point claiming the necklace was a replica, drawing criticism for their inconsistent statements.

The decisive blow for Kim Gunhee, who had consistently offered excuses, came with the so-called 'Myeong Taegyun Gate,' an alleged intervention in party nominations. During the 2022 local elections and parliamentary by-elections, suspicions arose that Yoon Sukyeol and Kim Gunhee had intervened in the People Power Party's nomination process. This incident marked a turning point, as public opinion rapidly deteriorated and calls for a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations grew stronger.

Further allegations emerged that Jeon Seongbae, a shaman close to Kim Gunhee, had received an expensive necklace and luxury bag from the Unification Church, delivered them to Kim Gunhee, and lobbied her regarding the church's pending business interests. As public sentiment worsened, Yoon Sukyeol declared martial law, and the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

After Yoon Sukyeol was first arrested on charges of leading an insurrection and was removed from office through a Constitutional Court impeachment trial, Kim Gunhee's fate was effectively sealed. As soon as President Lee Jaemyung took office following the presidential election, three special prosecutor teams targeting Yoon Sukyeol and Kim Gunhee were launched simultaneously. The investigations proceeded with unprecedented speed, leading to Yoon Sukyeol's second arrest.

Subsequently, as the special prosecutor's office conducted comprehensive searches and summons investigations involving Kim Gunhee, the tangled web of allegations began to unravel one by one. Even though Kim Gunhee was summoned only once for questioning, the special prosecutor requested an arrest warrant, citing concerns about evidence destruction. The court granted the request, making Kim Gunhee the first former First Lady in the nation's constitutional history to be arrested, a dishonorable distinction.

Ultimately, the special prosecutor's investigation has so far revealed that Kim Gunhee intervened in party nominations, received a necklace worth tens of millions of won from a construction company as a gift, accepted luxury bags, and became involved in the Unification Church's business affairs. She now stands as a detained suspect.

The former high-ranking prosecutor commented, "There were countless opportunities to break away before things reached this point," and added, "Yoon Sukyeol's decision to shield Kim Gunhee and block candid advice from those around him was his fatal mistake."