A special prosecution team has filed an indictment with the Seoul High Court, accusing First Lady Kim Keon-hee of direct involvement in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation scheme during its first-trial appeal.
Submitted Evidence Details
The team delivered the documents on December 12 to the Criminal Division 15-2, presided over by Judge Shin Jong-oh. The filing fully incorporates suspicions surrounding Kim’s role in the stock scheme, including a key message exchanged between her and the manipulators.
Investigators included a 2012 memo from a Deutsche Motors stock executive to group members amid a market plunge. The message quotes Kim instructing manipulators to ‘do it again for her friends,’ serving as evidence of her awareness and participation, according to the team’s analysis.
Company and Broader Suspicions
The appeals division previously noted potential company-level intent behind Kim’s stock activities, though executives deny any irregularities. The indictment also covers 83 manipulation-related incidents tied to Deutsche Motors stocks and 102 broker cases involving political fixer Myeong Tae-gyun, Yoon’s former advance broker.
Myeong received communications from Yoon during his 2021 presidential campaign, including recordings of election funding exchanges. Yoon reportedly remarked that call connection rates were ‘surprisingly high.’ The team consolidated these into the appeal to strengthen the case.
Church Embezzlement Link and Timeline
Additional content addresses 39 suspicions related to Tongil Church embezzlement involving Kim and associates. The first trial convicted defendant Zinan on January 28 with a one-year-and-eight-month sentence plus a 12.815 million won fine, focusing solely on church fund misuse.
The appeal’s first public hearing occurs on December 11.
