Kim Keon Hee arrested, marking first time an ex-presidential couple is simultaneously jailed

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, center, leaves Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Aug. 12, after an arrest warrant hearing. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant late Tuesday for former first lady Kim Keon Hee over charges of involvement in stock manipulation, election meddling and taking bribery.
 
Kim joins her husband, detained former President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the first time in constitutional history that a former presidential couple is arrested simultaneously.
 
The Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrant for Kim on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
 
The court cited concerns over destruction of evidence.  
 

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Kim was later transferred to Seoul Southern Detention Center in Guro District, western Seoul.
 
Kim is accused of participating in a stock price manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in Korea, from 2009 to 2012. She is also charged with meddling in the conservative People Power Party's nominations for the parliamentary by-elections in 2022 and in last year's general elections. She is also accused of receiving luxury gifts from the Unification Church through a shaman in exchange for business favors.
  
Earlier Tuesday, Kim appeared in person for a court hearing deliberating her arrest which lasted four hours. Kim's lawyers defended Kim, saying she had fully complied with the summons, had no reason to flee and was in poor health.  
 
During the warrant hearing, the special counsel team reportedly presented as evidence a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace reportedly worth over 60 million won ($43,000), which Kim had worn during her trip to Spain for the NATO summit in June 2022, seen as a critical piece of evidence.  
 
Kim reportedly has denied the charges against her.
 

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, center, bows after arriving at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Aug. 12. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

   
She was also questioned by the special counsel team investigating 16 allegations against her last Wednesday.  
 
At the detention center, Kim will get her personal information verified and undergo a physical examination. All personal belongings will be handed over to the correctional authorities.
 
Inmates are changed into khaki-colored pretrial detainee uniforms, get issued a prisoner number and get their mugshots taken.
 
Kim will then be placed in solitary confinement, similar to the cell where her husband is jailed. Kim is the first former first lady to be arrested.  
 
Yoon is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, over his botched martial law imposition in December.
 

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]