Following suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s arrest on Jan. 15 for his failed martial law attempt in December 2024, first lady Kim Keon Hee allegedly reprimanded the Presidential Security Service for failing to prevent Yoon's arrest, according to news reports, citing evidence obtained by the Korean National Police Agency’s National Office of Investigation.
According to Korean-language daily Hankook Ilbo, Kim reportedly criticized personnel from the PSS family department, soon after Yoon was taken into custody, for not preventing the joint investigation team from carrying out the suspended president's arrest warrant.
“I am disappointed in the PSS. Guns are meant to be used in situations like this -- what were you doing if you weren’t going to shoot?” Kim allegedly said.
She was also reported to have expressed extreme distress, allegedly remarking that she wanted to “shoot Lee Jae-myung,” the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, before taking her own life.
The police obtained evidence regarding the first lady’s conversation with PSS personnel after conducting a search and seizure operation at the residence and office of Kim Shin, the head of the family department of the PSS, according to the report.
The presidential office denied the report Thursday afternoon, saying that it was based on "exaggerated, unfounded grounds."
Upon the news report, Democratic Party spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong issued a written statement on Thursday saying that the first lady’s reported mention of firearms “serves as evidence” that Yoon “gave firearms to his security service agents and ordered them to fight against the enforcement of the law."
“The fact that this dangerous couple is still desperately trying to escape the judgment of the law is shaking the very foundation of the rule of law in Korea. (…) (Yoon) must be swiftly removed from office and brought to justice for Korea to return to normal,” read Ahn's statement.
On Tuesday, the prosecution requested new warrants to arrest two senior officials of the PSS: acting PSS chief Kim Seong-hoon and the chief of the PSS bodyguard division, Lee Kwang-woo. According to the NOI as reported by the Hankook Ilbo, this request -- the fourth after the prosecution previously rejected three others -- gives the first lady’s remarks on the use of firearms as new evidence.
Kim and Lee are suspected of obstructing the execution of Yoon’s arrest warrant in January, taking unjust personnel actions and instructing other PSS personnel to delete records of phone conversations between Yoon and military commanders involved in Yoon's martial law declaration. A hearing on the warrants for their arrest will be held at the Seoul Western District Court on Friday morning.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
