Prosecutors summon former first lady Kim Keon Hee for questioning in election interference probe
Disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol will have to walk through a gauntlet of journalists for the first time when entering the courthouse since his April 4 ouster, on Monday, as he must now enter through the court's public entrance to attend his criminal hearing, just as any other defendant normally would.
Yoon’s public appearance at the Seoul court comes after it banned use of the underground parking lot, which he had previously used to avoid the press and what is called in Korea the "photo line," a line of journalists and photographers waiting to ask the defendant questions and photograph him as they enter the courthouse.
Though Yoon may choose to head straight into the court building and ignore standing before the photo line to answer questions, he will likely still face cameras and reporters waiting in front of the building ahead of his third hearing Monday.
In South Korea, it has traditionally been expected that defendants, especially if they are high-profile figures, will stand in front of the photo line to deliver messages to the public or answer questions from the press before going in to attend investigations or court proceedings.
Though most defendants use the court's public entrance, Yoon entered the court building via its underground parking lot for his first two hearings on April 14 and 21.
The court previously explained that underground access was granted after considering security measures that would protect the court building and prevent possible inconveniences to the staff and other courtroom attendees. However, this sparked controversy over preferential treatment as the decision was an unprecedented privilege granted to a former president on criminal trial.
The court stated that the new decision was made after Seoul High Court and Seoul Central District Court officials “comprehensively considered various factors based on the two previous hearings,” without disclosing any specific reasons.
The court will prohibit the entry of all vehicles — except official cars designated for court-related tasks — until midnight Monday.
Yoon, who was initially indicted on charges of insurrection, will need to defend himself for additional criminal offenses at his upcoming criminal trial hearings starting Monday, as the prosecution indicted him for abuse of power over his failed Dec. 3 declaration of martial law on May 1.
The Seoul Central District Court, which is deliberating Yoon’s insurrection case, on May 2 decided to merge the new case with it in order to conduct joint deliberation.
Initially, prosecutors had excluded the abuse of power and obstruction of the exercise of rights charges when they first indicted Yoon on Jan. 26 for orchestrating the insurrection. But, following Yoon’s loss of presidential immunity after his April 4 removal, the prosecution decided to indict him for additional criminal offenses.
Article 84 of the Constitution shields sitting presidents from prosecution with the exception of insurrection or treason.
At Monday's hearing, Brig. Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, chief of staff of the Special Warfare Command, and the Capital Defense Command’s high-ranking official Oh Sang-bae are scheduled to be examined as witnesses and testify on instructions given during the period of martial law.
Kim Keon Hee summoned for alleged election interference
Meanwhile, the prosecutors investigating ties between pollster Myung Tae-kyun and the former presidential couple in alleged election interference have formally summoned the former first lady Kim Keon Hee for questioning this week.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office reportedly revealed that the decision was made as Kim had not responded to any of its requests for questioning since the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office transferred Myung’s election interference scandal case in February, stating that Kim’s questioning can no longer be delayed.
In September, last year, Myung first caught public attention when allegations surfaced that then-first lady Kim had interfered in the ruling party’s candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.
The political scandal escalated as Myung also claimed to have advised Yoon and Kim during the presidential campaign and alleged he was offered a public position postelection.
Myung is alleged to have produced fraudulent polls for prominent conservative politicians including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Daegu former Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and the New Reform Party's Rep. Lee Jun-seok.
Myung is suspected of receiving about 90 million won ($64,500) from Kim Young-sun, a former lawmaker of the People Power Party, on several occasions from 2022 to 2024, after she was elected to the National Assembly in a 2022 by-election.
Myung allegedly brokered the nomination for the ex-lawmaker by conducting multiple custom polls in favor of then-presidential candidate Yoon for free. The prosecution alleges the former first lady was involved in the nomination process.
After Myung was accused of fabricating polls to influence the candidacies of conservative political figures in December, he was summoned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for investigation on April 29.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
