Who is South Korea’s former first lady?

Two Chanel purses, a BMW dealership and a controversial church will all be on the centre of a trial confronted by South Korea’s former first girl this week.

Kim Keon Hee, the spouse of disgraced former president Yoon Suk Yeol, was arrested in August over a raft of prices together with bribery, inventory manipulation, and political interference – all of which she denies.

On Wednesday, lower than a fortnight after her husband was sentenced to 5 years’ in jail for abusing energy and obstructing justice in relation to his failed martial legislation bid, Kim will obtain the decision within the first of three circumstances in opposition to her.

Prosecutors say Kim, 52, made greater than 800 million received ($552,570; £404,050) by taking part in a price-rigging scheme involving the shares of Deutsch Motors, a BMW vendor in South Korea, between October 2010 and December 2012.

She can be accused of accepting luxurious luggage, a diamond necklace and different items value as much as 80m received as bribes from the controversial Unification Church in alternate for enterprise favours, and receiving 58 free opinion polls, value 270 million Korean received, from political dealer Myung Tae-kyun earlier than the 2022 presidential election.

Wednesday’s trial, which might be broadcast reside from the courtroom, marks the primary time in historical past {that a} presidential partner has been indicted whereas detained.

However it’s removed from the primary time Kim herself has been embroiled in controversy.

Earlier than she was South Korea’s first girl, Kim Keon Hee – born Kim Myeong-sin – was a businesswoman and artwork lover.

She graduated with an artwork training diploma from Sookmyung Ladies’s College in 1999, however would later face repeated allegations of plagiarism over her time as a pupil there – main the college to annul her diploma in 2025 after its analysis ethics panel discovered her thesis was compromised.

She has by no means commented on these allegations publicly.

In 2009, she based artwork exhibition firm Covana Contents, for which she continues to be CEO and president – however in 2019 South Korean media reported that she had allegedly evaded paying taxes and acquired kickbacks for internet hosting artwork exhibitions.

Kim, who has stood down from her function, was cleared of those prices in 2023, however the particular counsel is at present re-examining the case.

Then, forward of the 2022 presidential election which her husband in the end received, allegations emerged that Kim had submitted purposes to universities and corporations containing false {qualifications} and awards, sparking a scandal over doubtlessly fabricated credentials.

In response to those allegations, which some opposition members had sought to make use of as a political cudgel in opposition to Yoon, Kim issued a public apology for what she described as “exaggerations” on her resume.

She additional pledged that if her husband grew to become president she would “focus solely on my function as his spouse”.

It’s her conduct whereas in that function, nevertheless, that has drawn a few of the fiercest backlash.

In late-2023, spy digital camera footage surfaced exhibiting Kim receiving a luxurious purse from a person in a Seoul workplace in September 2022.

The footage was reported to have been secretly filmed by the pastor Choi Jae-young utilizing a digital camera embedded in his watch – and its publication intensified public scrutiny on each Kim and Yoon.

It appeared to indicate Mr Choi strolling to a retailer to buy the greyish-blue calfskin bag, with a receipt placing its price at 3m received ($2,200; £1,800). Mr Choi then visits Covana Contents, an organization in Seoul owned by the primary girl, the place Ms Kim then asks the pastor: “Why do you retain bringing me this stuff?”

South Korean legislation makes it unlawful for public officers and their spouses to obtain items value greater than 1m received in a single go, or a complete of 3m received inside a fiscal yr.

And whereas the video didn’t explicitly present Ms Kim accepting the reward, the Korea Herald reported on the time that the presidential workplace confirmed receipt of the bag and mentioned that it was “being managed and saved as a property of the federal government”.

The presidential workplace didn’t instantly reply to the protection, additional fuelling the controversy, as civic teams filed complaints with the prosecution citing potential violations of the Anti-Graft Act.

This incident is one in every of 16 allegations seemed into by the particular counsel group, 12 of which have been handed to police for additional investigation.

Wednesday’s verdict, nevertheless, will give attention to Kim allegedly accepting different bribes from the Unification Church, in addition to her alleged involvement in Deutsch Motors inventory manipulation and alleged election meddling.

Kim has denied the fees – though she did admit to receiving Chanel luggage, which she says she later returned with out utilizing.

Prosecutors final month known as for a 15-year jail time period and a tremendous of two billion received, saying she had “stood above the legislation” and colluded with the Unification Church to undermine the “constitutionally mandated separation of faith and state”.

Whereas Kim’s string of scandals solid a shadow over her husband’s presidential profession, it was Yoon himself who in the end sealed his personal destiny as one in every of South Korea’s most disgraced former leaders.

On 16 January, Yoon was discovered responsible of abuse of energy, falsifying paperwork and obstructing justice when he tried and did not impose martial legislation within the nation in 2024. He has additionally been sentenced to 5 years in jail.

It was the primary of the verdicts in 4 trials linked to Yoon’s shock martial legislation decree. Though short-lived, the transfer triggered nationwide turmoil, sparking protests as MPs rushed to the nationwide meeting to overturn Yoon’s determination.

Yoon’s actions “plunged the nation into political disaster”, a decide mentioned whereas delivering the decision, noting that Yoon had “constantly proven no regret”.

It was throughout a year-long probe into Yoon’s failed martial legislation try that particular prosecutors began investigating most of the allegations in opposition to Kim.

Collectively, the once-powerful-couple make a historic pair: whereas South Korea has a historical past of former presidents being indicted and imprisoned, Yoon and Kim mark the primary time each a former president and former first girl have been jailed.