First Courtroom Meeting in 9 Months of Detention... Kim Keon-hee Remains Silent at Yoon's Trial

Yonhap News Agency

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At the trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, his wife Kim Keon-hee appeared as a witness but exercised her right to refuse to testify, effectively remaining silent.

During the trial presided over by Judge Lee Jinkwan of the 33rd Criminal Division at the Seoul Central District Court on April 14, Kim was escorted into the courtroom at 2:08 p.m. by corrections officers, one on each arm. Former President Yoon, dressed in a black suit without a tie, fixed his gaze on his wife as she stood at the witness stand and took a sworn oath, stating, "I will speak the truth without concealment or embellishment, according to my conscience."

The special prosecutor's team focused on questioning Kim about how she first met Taegyun Myung, but Kim repeatedly, and without expression, stated her intention to refuse testimony. The prosecution also displayed a message on the court screen showing former President Yoon responding to poll results sent by Myung with a "cherry thumbs-up" emoji, asking Kim if she had ever seen her husband use this emoji. Kim, however, remained silent.

The special prosecutor's team also zeroed in on suspicions that Myung received a nomination right from former lawmaker Kim Youngsun in return for providing the results of multiple presidential election opinion polls free of charge. Kim, however, consistently replied that she would not testify, avoiding any concrete statements.

After about 30 minutes of questioning, Kim was escorted out of the courtroom at 2:41 p.m. As she left, former President Yoon was seen glancing at his attorney with a slight smile.

The previous day, Kim had also appeared as a witness in the trial of former Justice Minister Park Sungjae on charges of participating in a critical role in an insurrection, but she refused to testify in most instances. Although former President Yoon and Kim had previously appeared at court on the same day for separate cases, this was the first time they faced each other in the same courtroom. During earlier appearances, Seoul Detention Center and Seoul Southern Detention Center had coordinated to ensure their paths did not cross.

Former President Yoon has been indicted by Special Prosecutor Min Joongki's team on charges that, in collusion with Kim, he received a total of 58 free public opinion polls from Myung between April 2021 and March the following year, amounting to about 270 million won. The special prosecutor believes the couple used their influence to ensure former lawmaker Kim received a party nomination in exchange for the free polls.

With the conclusion of Kim's questioning, the court set the schedule for the remainder of the proceedings. On April 21, the court will hold evidentiary hearings to play selected key audio files submitted by the prosecution. This will be followed by the defendant's questioning on May 12, after which the final hearing will be held to conclude the trial process.

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