Anchor:  Former first lady Kim Keon-hee has been indicted while in detention, a first in the nation’s history. And with former President Yoon Suk Yeol already on trial, the former presidential couple will be the first to face trial while in custody. On the same day, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was also indicted without pretrial detention over his alleged role in last year’s martial law declaration.
Our Yun Sohyang reports.

Report: Special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team on Friday indicted former first lady Kim Keon-hee on charges of violating the Capital Market Act, the Political Funds Act and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

This marks the first time in Korea’s history that a former first lady has been indicted while in detention, and it is also the first instance of a presidential couple facing trial while both in custody.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim are alleged to have exerted undue influence over the People Power Party to nominate a candidate of their choice for a by-election in 2022 in return for receiving free opinion polls from a self-proclaimed power broker ahead of the presidential election.

Kim is also accused of providing funds for a stock manipulation scheme from 2009 to 2012 and receiving luxury gifts from the Unification Church through a shaman in exchange for business favors in 2022.

The indictment comes 59 days after Min’s team launched an investigation into a string of allegations against Kim on July 2.

Kim issued a public apology on Friday for causing concern and said she will not look away or attempt to justify her actions, but will instead concentrate on her upcoming trial.

On the same day, another special counsel team indicted former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo without pretrial detention on charges of aiding and abetting an insurrection when former President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly put the country under martial law on December 3.

According to the team on Friday, Han faces charges of aiding and abetting the leader of an insurrection, giving false testimony, drawing up a false official document, damaging an official document and violating the Act on the Management of Presidential Archives. 

Assistant prosecutors said Han could have prevented the unconstitutional move as the country’s top constitutional officer at the time, but instead enabled it.

The indictment states that Han allegedly convened a Cabinet session just before Yoon issued his martial law decree to make it appear legitimate and did not call another session to revoke the decree until more than three hours after a related motion passed parliament.

The former prime minister is also suspected of rewriting the proclamation to address legal flaws in the original before discarding the rewrite, and perjuring himself when he told the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly that he was unaware of the document in question.

Yun Sohyang, KBS World Radio News.