Kim Gun-hee, the first former First Lady in the Republic of Korea to be arrested, is scheduled to be summoned by the special prosecution team for questioning tomorrow (14th).
According to the legal community on the 13th, the special prosecution team announced through a media notice that they plan to summon Kim at 10 AM on the 14th to their office located in the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno, Seoul.
It appears that Mrs. Kim will be heading to the special prosecution office in a Ministry of Justice transport vehicle rather than her personal car.
Previously, Mrs. Kim was detained in the Seoul Southern Detention Center after an arrest warrant requested by the special prosecution was issued around 11:58 PM on the 12th.
Judge Jeong Jae-wook of the Seoul Central District Court conducted a pre-arrest interrogation and accepted the special prosecution's warrant request, determining there was a risk of destruction of evidence.
Concerns over evidence destruction
Crucial evidence and potential for additional investigation
The special prosecution has secured the genuine "Van Cleef & Arpels" necklace worn by Mrs. Kim during her overseas trip in June 2022 from Seohui Construction, and this is believed to have played a crucial role in the issuance of the arrest warrant.
In addition to the charges already included in the arrest warrant, the special prosecution is also likely to expand investigations into three additional criminal charges related to Deutsche Motors stock manipulation, involvement in nominations by Myungtaek Kwon, and the influence of Unification Church's lobbying in the case of Gwon Jin-seok.
According to the Criminal Procedure Act, the basic detention period for a suspect is typically 10 days, which can be extended by an additional 10 days once, allowing for a maximum of 20 days.
However, considering the practical difficulties of concluding investigations into multiple allegations within this time frame, there are predictions that the special prosecution team will indict Mrs. Kim soon.
Image source: Kim Gun-hee / News1, Former President Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Gun-hee applauding during a dinner meeting with Korean residents in Spain held at a hotel in Madrid in June 2022. / News1, Former President Yoon Suk-yeol / News1
