A Seoul court announced Monday that it granted permission for courtroom photography at the first hearing of former first lady Kim Keon Hee's criminal trial on Wednesday.
The Seoul Central District Court announced that the media will be allowed to take photographs or videos inside the courtroom for the hearing, at which Kim is required to appear.
The court added that the trial itself will not be made public.
Though Kim did not express her consent to filming, her legal representatives announced that the former first lady will appear for her hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
Kim is set to stand trial on charges of influence-peddling in the 2022 by-elections, stock price manipulation and bribery.
In South Korea, the judge may grant permission for pre-trial photography and filming upon the defendant’s agreement. Even without the defendant’s consent, the court can approve courtroom photography if it is deemed necessary for the public interest.
The first formal hearings of former President Park Geun-hye’s abuse of power case in 2017 and former President Lee Myung-bak’s bribery and embezzlement case in 2018 were both made public via the media.
The court at that time allowed Park and Lee’s court appearances to be made public after considering their significance, the high level of public interest in the cases and the broader public benefit.
Meanwhile, the special counsel team investigating multiple allegations against Kim summoned her again for questioning on Thursday.
The upcoming investigation is seen as a continuation of the special counsel team’s past efforts to probe Kim’s involvement in the alleged bribery case linked to a former prosecutor, Kim Sang-min.
The former prosecutor is suspected of bribing the former first lady to receive support for his bid to win the 2024 general election in Uichang-gu of Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.
The special counsel team reportedly suggested that Kim received a 140 million won ($100,600) painting by the Korean painting master Lee Ufan.
Though the former prosecutor failed to win the nomination for a parliamentary seat, he was appointed as a legal adviser for the National Intelligence Service.
Thursday’s questioning will mark the former first lady Kim’s first questioning since she was taken into custody on Aug. 12.
Kim's legal representative announced that the former first lady will comply with the special counsel summons as well.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
