Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon-hee has appeared in court for her first hearing in a corruption trial involving bribery and stock manipulation.
With her face partially covered with a mask and wearing her inmate number, 4398, Kim, 53, was brought to the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday from detention, where she had been held since August 12.
During an identity check from the bench, Kim told the court she was currently “unemployed” and did not want a jury trial.
Kim becomes the first spouse of a former president to stand trial after she was accused of violating the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation.
The former first lady’s charge under the Capital Markets Act is related to claims that she conspired with the former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer, and a close associate to manipulate the company’s stock prices and make 810 million won ($581,000) in profits in two years, between 2010 and 2012.
Kim’s second charge is based on allegations that she and her husband, ousted President Yoon Suk-yeol, received free opinion polls from a self-proclaimed power broker, for free, ahead of the 2021 elections, which Yoon went on to win.
However, the trade-off for the free polling was securing the nomination of the former People Power Party representative, Kim Young-sun, for a by-election later that year.
Kim’s final charge, related to corruption, is connected to her alleged acceptance of luxury bags and jewellery from the Unification Church in 2022.
The head of the church, Han Hak-ja, was arrested on Tuesday for bribing Kim, a claim that Han and her church have denied.
Meanwhile, Yoon is also standing trial for his failed attempt to impose martial law in the country in December of last year.
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