Kim Keon Hee discharged from hospital

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, was discharged from hospital on Friday afternoon, leaving the hospital building in a wheelchair and being escorted by security.

Kim, who was diagnosed with depression in early June, has been hospitalized at Asan Medical Center due to the severity of her symptoms since June 16.

According to the representatives of the former first lady, who faces a special counsel probe into her corruption allegations including stock manipulation, Kim would comply with the special prosecutor’s investigation.

But Kim's representatives reportedly requested a formal statement of her charges and for her investigation to be conducted privately to ensure her right to a proper defense, adding that she would comply with multiple questionings if these requests are accepted.

Meanwhile, Yoon’s legal representative said Friday that Yoon agreed to comply with the special prosecution summons, even if his original request for his appearance without media exposure is not accepted.

Yoon's legal team reportedly said that Yoon would appear for questioning Saturday as planned regardless of whether the agreement had been reached over the matter. The team added that it will try to negotiate the matters once again at the scene of his appearance.

Yoon’s legal team requested that Yoon enter the special counsel's office inside the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul via an underground parking lot to prevent Yoon's appearance from being broadcast.

However, the special prosecutor has refused to accept the demand, stating that it could be seen as a preferential treatment.

“As none of the former presidents — Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye — ever entered the prosecutors’ office building via its underground parking lot, we told Yoon’s legal representatives that we cannot accept the request,” Park Ji-young, assistant special prosecutor, told reporters on Thursday.

The former president previously engaged in a fierce dispute with the special counsel team — led by Cho Eun-suk to investigate Yoon’s alleged insurrection and treason — on Thursday, when he requested a one-hour delay from the original schedule for the investigation, which was set to start at 9 a.m. Saturday, and closed-door appearance.

Though the independent counsel agreed to the schedule change as it had no legal basis to enforce Yoon to appear at 9 a.m., the special counsel team emphasized that the public summoning of the former president cannot be negotiated.