Democratic Party: "A Signal for the Restoration of the Nation"
On August 12, Judge Jeong Jaeuk, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, conducted a pre-arrest detention hearing for Kim Gunhee and issued an arrest warrant shortly after midnight. Kim Gunhee will be detained at Seoul Southern Detention Center for up to 20 days, during which she will be investigated by the special prosecutor. This marks the first time in the nation's constitutional history that both a former president and their spouse have been detained simultaneously. In response to the news of Kim Gunhee's arrest, Lee Eonju, a member of the Democratic Party, criticized her on August 13, calling her "a born con artist whose body and soul are steeped in lies and hypocrisy."
Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Eonju, Supreme Council member, and Cho Seungrae, Secretary General, are talking during the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
On her social media account that day, Lee stated, "She appears to have deliberately hidden the fact that she received a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace by even creating a fake to cover it up, and lied about it without hesitation. This is something ordinary people could never even imagine." She continued, "The Yoon Sukyeol couple portrayed the vulgar and lowly prosecutor Yoon Sukyeol-who threw tantrums in his underwear because he did not want to be investigated-as a righteous hero and a champion of fairness and common sense. It was a massive scam against the public." She added, "It may be unusual for a couple to be detained at the same time, but am I the only one who feels not even a shred of sympathy for them?"
Democratic Party: "A Signal for the Restoration of the Nation"
The Democratic Party also described Kim Gunhee's arrest as "a signal for the normalization of the nation." Park Soo-hyun, the party's chief spokesperson, said in a briefing after Kim's arrest, "We welcome the court's sensible decision together with the people." Park emphasized, "Given the allegations of stock price manipulation involving Deutsche Motors, suspected interference in candidate nominations by Myung Tae-gyun, and the alleged solicitation of Geonjin Beopsa, there was no way for Kim Gunhee to escape the arrest warrant. Kim Gunhee is not, as she claims, 'a nobody.' She is at the center of the state corruption under the Yoon Sukyeol administration."
Yoon Seokyoul's wife, Kim Gunhee, is coming out after the pre-arrest detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 12th. Photo by Joint Press Corps
He added, "If anyone thought she could evade the rule of law simply because she was the wife of a former president, they were mistaken. The issuance of the warrant is both a natural consequence and a signal for the restoration of the nation." He continued, "Justice can no longer be delayed. We urge the special prosecutor to conduct a thorough investigation and promptly indict Kim Gunhee so that the truth behind the allegations can be revealed to the public."
Kim Gunhee's arrest came 42 days after the special prosecutor Min Jungki launched the investigation, making this the first case in history where both a former president and a former first lady have been detained at the same time. Kim Gunhee currently faces 16 criminal charges, including stock price manipulation involving Deutsche Motors. On this day, she was placed in a solitary cell at the Southern Detention Center. According to the August meal schedule for inmates at the Seoul Southern Detention Center, breakfast included bread, strawberry jam, and milk, while lunch featured pork kimchi stew and sweet and sour dumplings.
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