Kim Jung-sook (Presidential Archives)
Kim Jung-sook (Presidential Archives)

The South Korean prosecution on Friday announced it would not indict former President Moon Jae-in’s wife, Kim Jung-sook, in connection with allegations of abuse of power and misappropriation of state funds due to insufficient evidence.

The decision comes around 13 months after Kim was first reported to the prosecution in December 2023.

"In a case where criminal complaints were filed amid social controversy over the activities of a former president’s spouse, the prosecution conducted investigations involving multiple related individuals and secured relevant materials to establish the facts," the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said. "After reviewing the legality of the matter, it concluded that the accused was cleared of charges."

In 2023, a Seoul city councilor Lee Jong-bae filed a complaint against Kim, accusing the former first lady of abuse of power and loss of the national coffers related to her solo India trip in 2018, arguing she wasted 400 million won ($270,000) in state funds for her junket to the Taj Mahal in India.

The councilor also filed simultaneous complaints over the suspicions of accepting a luxury jacket and requesting swimming lessons from a presidential guard for more than a year beginnning early 2018.

Prosecutors said Kim’s trip was requested by India, a strategic partner during Moon’s New Southern Policy, and the former first lady followed respective procedures, including the reviews from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cabinet meeting decision and the presidential approval.

It confirmed that the trip to the Taj Mahal was offered by India and Kim followed the official schedules directed by government officials.

The prosecution also acquitted Kim over the luxury jacket.

Prosecutors stated that the rented Chanel jacket worn by Kim during a 2018 state visit to France was returned to its fashion house and the brand donated the piece to the National Hangeul Museum. It explained that no evidence of spending national budget was found.

The prosecution said there was a lack of evidence to prove the existence of regular private swimming lessons, signs of unjust orders or coercion.


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