Investigators in the Kim Keon Hee probe applied for a warrant to detain the former first lady on Thursday afternoon, a day after their interrogation over her alleged involvement in five key suspicions.
The team had filed a request for a detention warrant for former first lady Kim with the Seoul Central District Court at 1:21 p.m., Thursday.
The special counsel cited the need for detention on allegations of Political Funds Act violation, Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act violation, and bribery charges.
During a press briefing, assistant special counsel Oh Jung-hee said, “We believed it was necessary to request the warrant. We judged that all legal requirements set by the law were met.”
The special counsel team ― led by Min Joong-ki ― reportedly considered summoning the former first lady again for further questioning.
Since Kim denied all major allegations related to her alleged involvement in the stock price manipulation of imported car dealer Deutsch Motors, a bribery case and influence-peddling in the 2022 by-elections, the team determined that detention was necessary over evidence-tampering concerns.
This is the first time in the country’s constitutional history that an attempt has been made to detain a former first lady. If the court issues the detention warrant, former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee will be the first former presidential couple to be detained by the investigative agency.
A hearing on whether to issue detention warrant for Kim will be held on Aug. 12, the Seoul Central District Court said Thursday.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
![[Graphic News] Hygiene products market surpasses W3tr for first time](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/01/news-p.v1.20260901.f0ded17ebd9e4a1bb15da6ec364e4ff3_T1.gif?type=h&h=800)
