South Korea: Ex-First Lady skips prosecutors' questioning over influence peddling scandal

Seoul, May 14 Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee declined to appear before the prosecution on Wednesday, defying a summons for questioning over allegations of influence peddling in the 2022 parliamentary bye-elections.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office had asked the ex-First Lady to appear for questioning as a suspect at 9 a.m., but Kim did not comply with the summons request.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kim submitted a letter of excuse for her non-attendance, saying it could sway public opinion ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

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 (PPP) Rep. Kim Young-sun win the party's nomination for the 2022 bye-elections via Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, who in return conducted free public opinion polls favourable to Yoon ahead of the 2022 presidential election.

The former First Lady has additionally been accused of involvement in the PPP's candidate nominations for the 2022 local elections and the 2024 general elections.

Prosecutors plan to review the next summons date for Kim, while also considering requesting a warrant to detain her in the event she defies repeated summonses without legitimate grounds, Yonhap news agency reported.

"If (Kim) decides to defy all summon requests, we will thoroughly review her reasoning and take appropriate measures according to common procedure," a prosecution official said.

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.

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