Wife of Ex-President and ex-PM Indicted
South Korea’s political crisis intensified on Friday when special prosecutors charged Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, and former prime minister Han Duck Soo on criminal charges. The action comes as part of three current investigations by liberal President Lee Jae Myung into revealing purported misbehaviour during Yoon’s presidency.
The allegations against Kim include bribery and manipulation of shares to politicking and intervening in political candidate selections. A court had already issued an arrest warrant against her earlier this month. Han Duck Soo, a former close government ally, is also facing prosecution, which adds to the legal and political repercussions associated with Yoon’s administration.
Yoon’s Unusual Act of Defiance
While his inner circle faced charges at the hands of prosecutors, Yoon himself made a show of defiance. On Friday, he again refused to go for questioning. Instead, he removed his prison uniform and stretched out on the floor of his cell in protest. Investigators, under special counsel Min Joong-ki, tried to bring him in against his will after multiple refusals.
The ex-president has been embroiled in controversy since his ouster from power in April after his short-lived martial law proclamation. His move to send troops to Seoul on Dec. 3 outraged people, although politicians moved swiftly to nullify the decree in a matter of hours. Although enforced momentarily, the decree set off a chain of arrests among his erstwhile administration, including top police and military officials.
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High-Stakes Trial and Political Consequences
Yoon, who was a key conservative figure once, now stands accused of rebellion and insurrection in a highly anticipated trial. He is centering his defense on claims that he did not try to incite a rebellion. Beyond the grope-gate scandal of martial law, prosecutors also seek to investigate claims that Yoon and his wife tried to exert excessive influence over the ruling party’s 2022 nominations.
The unfolding judicial drama has enthralled South Korea, fusing courtroom fights with super-high political stakes. With his wife and ex-premier now officially indicted, Yoon’s downfall has become a defining political spectacle, laying bare deep fault lines in the nation’s power establishment.
