[News Today] “Special counsel started affair rumor”

[LEAD]
Former First Lady Kim Keon-hee attended a bail hearing, citing her deteriorating health in prison.

KBS has learned her legal team claimed the special counsel is fueling public opinion with affair rumors.

They argued those claims are unrelated to the charges.

And said such tactics point to the need to release Kim.

[REPORT]
In a previous trial, the special counsel team disclosed messages exchanged between Kim Keon-hee and a man surnamed Lee, presumed to be her accomplice in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case.

In a message dating back to 2012, Lee said he was speaking frankly, because he was genuinely worried about her, and that he had decided to take his hands off Deutsch Motors.

Kim Keon-hee replied by saying she was the one who wanted to keep things secret even more.

In a written statement submitted to the court to apply for bail, Kim’s legal team said the special counsel was the one to generate and spread the affair allegation to sway public opinion.

It said although Lee is not a key figure in the case, nor is he related to the charges, he is being humiliated and dragged into unrelated investigations, which points to the need to release Kim to ensure her right to defense.

At the bail hearing, Kim’s legal team said her health condition has deteriorated significantly and that she would accept all preconditions, including residence restrictions, a ban on mobile phone use, and electronic monitoring.

The special counsel team stressed the need to keep Kim in custody due to the possibility of her coordinating testimonies with key witnesses such as former presidential office administrators Yoo Kyung-ok and Jeong Ji-won.

The investigators added that disclosing the messages was necessary because Lee is a hidden key figure in the stock manipulation case.

Jeon Seong-bae, known as shaman Geonjin Beopsa, appeared as a witness in Kim’s trial again.

He reiterated that the so-called “Unification Church necklace” worth 60 million won, which Kim denies ever receiving, was indeed delivered to her and that she even contacted him to say she had received it.

The judge personally inspected and verified three luxury bags, a necklace and other items believed to have been received by the former first lady, and said there were signs of use on the bags and shoes.

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