Former first lady Kim faces scrutiny over secure phone calls with senior presidential aide

Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee faces mounting scrutiny after revelations emerged that she used a secure presidential phone line to speak with a top aide just weeks before prosecutors were set to question her.

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee [YONHAP]

Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee faces mounting scrutiny after revelations emerged that she used a secure presidential phone line to speak with a top aide just weeks before prosecutors were set to question her in a high-profile stock manipulation and bribery investigation last year.

According to legal sources Tuesday, Kim made two secure calls on July 3, 2024, to then-senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Kim Joo-hyun. The conversations, totaling more than 33 minutes, took place just 17 days before Kim was summoned for questioning by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on July 20, sparking allegations of potential interference in the legal process. The phone call started at 4:08 p.m. and lasted about 17 minutes. A few minutes later, Kim Joo-hyun called her back, and the two talked for an additional 16 minutes.

The calls mark a critical expansion in the ongoing investigation led by independent counsel Min Joong-ki into suspicions surrounding Kim Keon Hee’s involvement in state affairs and possible prosecutorial leniency. The revelations follow Monday’s confirmation that Kim Joo-hyun also spoke via secure phone with Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung last October — around the time prosecutors dropped charges against the first lady in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.

Opposition politicians suggested the call may have been used to prepare for the probe.

“The use of a secure phone by Kim Keon Hee serves as evidence supporting suspicions of her involvement in state affairs,” said Kim Hyun-jung, spokesperson for the liberal Democratic Party. “Kim Joo-hyun, as senior civil affairs secretary, seems to have acted as a legal proxy for both Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Keon Hee to help quash investigations.”

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, introduces former Vice Justice Kim Ju-hyun as his new senior secretary for civil affairs at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on May.7, 2024. [NEWS1]

As the former first lady was formally a suspect at the time, the conversation could raise suspicions that confidential investigation details were leaked or that the prosecution offered her leniency. The disclosure follows the revelation Monday that Shim spoke twice with Kim Joo-hyun via secure phone in October 2024 — around the time prosecutors decided not to indict Kim Keon Hee over the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.

This period also coincided with intensifying scrutiny over allegations that a political broker, Myung Tae-kyun, had influenced nomination decisions. “The prosecutor general’s luxury probe and exoneration of Kim were a coordinated effort among Kim Keon Hee, the senior civil affairs secretary, and the top prosecutor,” said spokesperson Kim.

However, with the call logs alone unable to confirm the contents of the conversation, summoning both Kim Joo-hyun and the former first lady appears inevitable to verify whether preferential treatment was involved. Kim Joo-hyun is also suspected of having spoken to former President Yoon on July 20 — the day Kim Keon Hee was questioned — and again early the next morning.

Myung Tae-kyun moves to a transport vehicle to return to Changwon Detention Center, where he was being held, after attending a pretrial detention hearing at the Changwon District Court in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Nov. 14, 2024. [NEWS1]

Following confirmation of the secure calls between Shim and Kim Joo-hyun, the special counsel team’s probe may extend to the prosecution. The Special Prosecutor Act authorizes investigations into suspicions of interference by the presidential office and delays or cover-ups by public officials.

Shim has denied discussing any criminal cases with Kim Joo-hyun, saying Monday, “There was no call related to a prosecutorial case.”

The surfacing of Kim’s secure phone records is fueling suspicions of the former first lady’s involvement in state affairs. Investigative authorities reportedly obtained and analyzed logs from the Presidential Security Service’s secure phone server, confirming usage by Kim Keon Hee.

Kim Keon Hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol [NEWS1]

If additional secure phone records show communication between Kim and other Cabinet officials, speculation about her involvement in state affairs is expected to grow. On Dec. 2, 2024 — a day before martial law was reportedly considered — Kim also sent two text messages to former National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong using a regular phone.

Asked Tuesday whether an in-person questioning of Kim is necessary, independent counsel Min Joong-ki said, “I believe it will take place.”

The former first lady was hospitalized at Asan Medical Center in Seoul due to severe depression, according to sources in the legal and medical communities on Tuesday. Min said he was informed of Kim Keon Hee’s hospitalization through media reports and would discuss next steps after appointing deputy prosecutors.

Former president Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and his wife Kim Keon Hee leave the presidential residence on April 11. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Min also appointed Hong Ji-hang, an administrative division chief at the Bucheon branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office, to head the investigation support team, speeding up preparations. The team is expected to be based in the KT Gwanghwamun West Building in central Seoul.

Once the appointments of deputy prosecutors are finalized, Min plans to proceed with recruiting dispatched prosecutors and civil servants for the investigation.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY YANG SU-MIN [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]