The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant around midnight for the wife of disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol, citing the risk of tampering with evidence after a hearing earlier in the day.
With her arrest, Kim and Yoon became the country's first former presidential couple to be held at the same time, as her husband has been detained at a remand prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province since early last month over charges related to his botched Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.
Allegedly having partly colluded with Yoon, Kim has been accused of accepting bribes including a luxury handbag and jewelry, being involved in a stock manipulation scheme, and interfering in candidate nominations during the 2022 by-elections.
Kim reportedly denied all allegations during the hearing, with her lawyers pleading for consideration of her poor health. They also emphasized that she had fully cooperated with the investigation and had no intention of fleeing. However she could not avoid arrest as independent prosecutors presented some evidence of bribery.
Kim, who lost all her privileges as an ex-first lady including security details immediately after her arrest, was moved to a different remand prison in southern Seoul from Yoon, with prosecutors allowed to hold her for up to 20 days for further investigation.
reporter
Im Yoon-seo
lyseo0330@ajupress.com
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