South Korean Ex-first lady says not to comply with prosecution summons this week: Sources

Seoul, May 13 (IANS) Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee has told the prosecution she cannot comply with a summon request this week, claiming the investigation into the alleged influence-peddling case could sway public opinion ahead of the upcoming presidential election, judicial sources said on Tuesday.

Kim's legal representatives submitted a letter of excuse for her non-attendance to a planned hearing at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday, according to the sources.

Kim faces charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Political Funds Act in connection with allegations that she helped former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun win the party's nomination for the 2022 by-elections via Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, who in return conducted free public opinion polls favourable to Yoon Suk Yeol ahead of the 2022 presidential election.

In the letter, Kim cited concerns over the investigation's potential impact on the June 3 presidential election, saying it could spur speculative media reports, Yonhap news agency reported.

Earlier on May 12, prosecutors in South Korea had ordered Kim to appear for questioning this week over allegations of influence-peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.

Prosecutors are reportedly considering requesting a warrant to detain Kim in the event she defies repeated summonses without legitimate grounds.

Earlier in 2025, Kim Keon-hee, faced mounting public scrutiny over her suspected involvement in the country’s short-lived martial law decree, with allegations of election meddling and text messages sent to an official on the eve of the December debacle.

The opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) claimed that the looming threat of a public revelation over the first couple’s alleged interference in the nomination process for a local parliamentary by-election in 2022 had pressured former president Yoon Suk-yeol into launching the long-planned action.

Yoon, who dramatically rose from a top prosecutor to the presidency in about three years, became the nation's second President to be formally removed from office, with his surprise martial law bid rattling the nation for months and deepening political polarisation.

Before taking the nation's highest office, Yoon began his career as a prosecutor in 1994, rising through the ranks to lead an investigation team into Park's corruption scandal that ultimately led to her ouster and subsequent imprisonment.

In 2019, he was appointed as the nation's top prosecutor under then South Korean President Moon Jae-in but clashed with the administration as he oversaw investigations into family members of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

Amid mounting pressure from the Moon administration, Yoon stepped down from his post in 2021, only to enter politics shortly after and win the presidential election in 2022 as the candidate for the conservative People Power Party.

Yoon's term was riddled with conflict with an uncooperative National Assembly dominated by the main Opposition Democratic Party (DP). Yoon exercised his presidential veto power against 25 Bills passed by the National Assembly.

Tensions with the DP appeared to reach an extreme in early December as the main Opposition introduced motions to impeach the country's top auditor and a senior prosecutor, with Yoon declaring martial law on December 3, which ultimately led to his downfall.

--IANS

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