Kim Gunhee Denies Charges During Special Prosecutor's Investigation... Arrest Warrant Under Review

Kim Denies All Five Charges in First Interrogation, Actively Explains Her Position
Special Prosecutor Weighs Additional Questioning... Plan May Shift to Securing Custody

Former President Yoon Seokyeol's wife, Kim Gunhee, appeared on the 6th as a suspect accused of violating the Capital Market Act and other charges at the Minjungki Kim Gunhee Special Prosecutor's Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The Minjungki Special Prosecutor's team, which summoned and questioned Kim Gunhee on charges including bribery, is reviewing whether to request an arrest warrant for her as of August 7. The fact that the special prosecutor's team is considering the arrest warrant after only a single round of questioning suggests that they have judged further investigation of Kim Gunhee to be meaningless.

The special prosecutor's team summoned Kim Gunhee the previous day and questioned her for about 10 hours. Kim Gunhee refused to have her interrogation video recorded and did not undergo questioning late at night. Interrogation after 9 p.m. requires the subject's consent.

The special prosecutor's team referred to Kim Gunhee as a "suspect" and questioned her on several points: whether she had prior knowledge of the Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation; whether she intervened in candidate nominations in exchange for receiving free opinion polls from Myung Taegyun ahead of the 2022 presidential election; whether she was involved in lobbying on behalf of the Unification Church in return for receiving a diamond necklace and luxury bag worth tens of millions of won; and who owned the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace she wore during the NATO summit trip and why it was not included in her asset disclosure.

It is reported that Kim Gunhee did not exercise her right to remain silent and actively explained her position. Regarding the stock manipulation allegations, she reportedly stated, "I did not know about the stock manipulation in advance, nor did I collude." On the suspicion of intervening in candidate nominations, she said, "Mr. Myung unilaterally sent the opinion poll, and I never intervened in nominations." Regarding the Unification Church lobbying allegations, she explained, "I never received a necklace or a luxury bag." About the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, she stated, "It is indeed an imitation, and I borrowed it back from my mother after gifting it to her."

The special prosecutor's team initially planned to summon Kim Gunhee again to clarify all raised suspicions. However, since Kim Gunhee has taken a strategy of denying all charges, the team now believes that further questioning would be of little practical benefit. As a result, it is highly likely that the plan will be revised to first secure Kim Gunhee's custody and then investigate the remaining allegations.

Although it is expected that the special prosecutor's team will eventually request an arrest warrant for Kim Gunhee, some observers believe that seeking custody after only a single round of questioning may be premature. Securing her custody could reduce time lost in scheduling further summons, but it could also lead to issues if Kim Gunhee, like former President Yoon Seokyeol, refuses to comply with summons. For this reason, some analysts argue that, in terms of investigative efficiency, it would be more advantageous for the special prosecutor's team to fully investigate all allegations against Kim Gunhee before requesting an arrest warrant as a final measure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.