South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee arrives at the special prosecutor’s office in Seoul, South Korea, August 6, 2025.
Kim Hong-Ji | Reuters
South Korea on Friday reportedly indicted former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee.
Han faces charges of abetting the short-lived martial law bid by ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, while Kim, Yoon’s wife, was indicted over corruption and bribery charges.
South Korean media outlet Yonhap said Han’s charges include “abetting the ringleader of an insurrection, perjury, falsifying and destroying official documents, and other offenses.”
Yoon had declared martial law in December 2024, but that was short lived and led to his impeachment and removal from office earlier this year.
He was arrested and faces charges of insurrection over his martial law bid, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
Yonhap reported that Kim was accused of providing funds for a stock manipulation scheme, as well as receiving free opinion polls ahead of the presidential election in 2022.
She is also suspected of receiving luxury gifts from the Unification Church, a religious movement founded in Seoul, in exchange for business favors in 2022.
These charges come as President Lee Jae Myung reportedly approved legislation back in June for investigations into Yoon’s martial law bid, as well as probes into Kim and other allegations against Yoon’s administration.
Yoon had previously vetoed these investigations while in office, according to domestic media.
These probes had reportedly led to raids on a church in South Korea and into Osan Air Base, a joint base operated by both the U.S. and South Korean air forces.
U.S. President Donald Trump had referenced these raids ahead of his meeting with South Korea’s Lee on Monday stateside, saying that there were “very vicious raids on churches” and “that they even went into a military base and got information.”
Before his meeting with Lee, Trump had posted on Truth Social, saying “WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there,” although he did not reference any specific event.
The U.S. president later softened his stance during the meeting with Lee, saying that “I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”
