South Korea's former first lady imprisoned after court issues warrant

By Heejin Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested after a court late on Tuesday issued a warrant to arrest her following accusations of graft that she denies, a special prosecutor leading a wide-reaching probe said.

Kim is South Korea's only former first lady to be arrested, joining her husband, ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, in jail as he faces trial following his ouster in April over a botched bid to impose martial law in December.

Earlier in the day, Kim, wearing a black suit, bowed as she arrived at court, but did not answer reporters' questions or make a statement. After the hearing ended she left to await the ruling at a detention centre in Seoul, the capital, in line with customary practice.

The court issued the warrant for Kim's detention, the special prosecutor appointed in early June said in a brief message. The prosecutor's office did not provide further details.

The charges against her, punishable by years in prison, range from stock fraud to bribery and illegal influence peddling that have implicated business owners, religious figures and a political power broker.

She has been accused of breaking the law over an incident in which she wore a luxury Van Cleef pendant reportedly worth more than 60 million won ($43,000) while attending a NATO summit with her husband in 2022.

The item was not listed in the couple's financial disclosure as required by law, according to the charge.

Kim is also accused of receiving two Chanel bags together valued at 20 million won and a diamond necklace from a religious group as a bribe in return for influence favourable to its business interests.

The prosecution sought Kim's arrest because of the risk of her destroying evidence and interfering with the investigation, a spokesperson for the special prosecutor's team told a press briefing after Tuesday's hearing.

The court accepted the argument on the risk of destroying evidence, Yonhap news reported.

The spokesperson, Oh Jeong-hee, said Kim had told prosecutors the pendant she wore was a fake bought 20 years ago in Hong Kong.

The prosecution said it was genuine, however, and given by a domestic construction company for Kim to wear at the summit, Oh said.  

Kim's lawyers did not immediately comment on Tuesday but they have previously denied the accusations against her and dismissed as groundless speculation news reports about some of the gifts she allegedly received.

Yoon is on trial on charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

The former president, who also faces charges of abuse of power among others, has denied wrongdoing and refused to attend trial hearings or be questioned by prosecutors.

($1=1,391.3000 won)

(Reporting by Heejin Kim; Additional reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones, Bhargav Acharya and Jasper Ward; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Stephen Coates)