Spouse of South Korea’s jailed ex-President Yoon arrested : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6830x4760+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1f%2F1c%2F085d151f4885ac5d0eeea88c7eb4%2Fap25224035761695.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6830x4760+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1f%2F1c%2F085d151f4885ac5d0eeea88c7eb4%2Fap25224035761695.jpg" class="img" alt="South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee, wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review her arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors, in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday." fetchpriority="high"/> South Korea's former first girl Kim Keon Hee, spouse of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court docket to attend a listening to to evaluation her arrest warrant requested by particular prosecutors, in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. Jung Yeon-je/AP through AFP disguise caption

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Jung Yeon-je/AP through AFP SEOUL, South Korea — The spouse of South Korea's jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested as investigators search to cost her over numerous suspected crimes, together with bribery, inventory manipulation and meddling within the number of a candidate.

In granting a particular prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant late Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Courtroom mentioned Kim Keon Hee posed a threat of destroying proof.

The investigation into Kim is one among three particular prosecutor probes launched below Seoul's new liberal authorities concentrating on the presidency of Yoon, a conservative who was faraway from workplace in April and rearrested final month over his temporary imposition of martial legislation in December.

Whereas Yoon's self-inflicted downfall prolonged a decades-long run of South Korean presidencies ending badly, he and Kim are the primary former presidential couple to be jailed concurrently over legal allegations.

Yoon's stunning but poorly deliberate energy seize on Dec. 3 got here amid a seemingly routine standoff with the liberals, who he described as "anti-state" forces abusing their legislative majority to dam his agenda. Some political opponents have questioned whether or not Yoon's actions have been no less than partly motivated by rising allegations in opposition to his spouse, which damage his approval scores and gave political ammunition to his rivals.

Kim didn't communicate to reporters as she arrived on the Seoul court docket Tuesday for an hours-long listening to on the warrant request. She is being held at a detention heart in southern Seoul, separate from the ability holding Yoon. She is predicted to face additional questioning on Thursday by investigators, who can lengthen her detention for as much as 20 days earlier than formally submitting fees.

The investigation workforce led by Particular Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who was appointed in June by new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, initially questioned Kim for about seven hours on Wednesday final week earlier than deciding to hunt her arrest.

Kim spoke briefly to reporters as she appeared for final week's questioning, issuing a imprecise apology for inflicting public concern but additionally hinting that she would deny the allegations in opposition to her, portraying herself as "somebody insignificant."

Investigators suspect that Kim and Yoon exerted undue affect on the conservative Folks Energy Celebration to appoint a selected candidate in a 2022 legislative by-election, allegedly on the request of election dealer Myung Tae-kyun. Myung faces accusations of conducting free opinion surveys for Yoon utilizing manipulated information that probably helped him win the get together's presidential primaries earlier than his election as president.

Kim is individually linked to a number of corruption allegations, together with claims that she obtained luxurious items through a fortuneteller performing as an middleman for a Unification Church official in search of enterprise favors, and attainable involvement in a inventory value manipulation scheme tied to an area BMW dealership firm.

Min's investigation workforce arrested one among Kim's shut associates earlier Tuesday following his arrival from Vietnam, as they appear into suspicions that he used his connection to the previous first girl to safe tens of millions of {dollars} in enterprise investments for his financially struggling firm.

The investigators additionally raided a development firm on Monday over allegations that its chairman bought a luxurious necklace reportedly value $43,000, which they consider was the identical one Kim wore whereas accompanying Yoon on a 2022 journey to Europe. Investigators suspect that the necklace was probably linked to the chairman's son-in-law's hiring because the chief of employees of then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Yoon's No. 2, shortly earlier than the presidential journey. Kim has reportedly denied the accusations, claiming that the necklace she wore in Europe was not an genuine piece however a borrowed pretend.

Whereas in workplace, Yoon dismissed calls to research his spouse as baseless political assaults and vetoed a number of payments from the liberal-led legislature in search of unbiased probes into the allegations.

Shortly after profitable the early presidential election in June, new President Lee Jae Myung accredited laws to launch sweeping particular investigations into Yoon's martial legislation debacle, the allegations in opposition to his spouse, and the 2023 drowning loss of life of a marine throughout a flood rescue operation, an incident the liberals declare Yoon's authorities tried to cowl up.

Yoon's martial legislation decree lasted solely hours, after a quorum of lawmakers managed to interrupt by way of a blockade of closely armed troopers and voted to revoke the measure. He was impeached by lawmakers on Dec. 14 and was formally faraway from workplace by the Constitutional Courtroom in April.

Yoon, who was despatched again to jail final month following a March launch and faces a high-stakes trial on insurrection and different fees, has repeatedly resisted investigators' makes an attempt to compel him to reply questions on his spouse.