Prosecutors have charged Yoon Suk Yeol for failing to report luxury gifts received by his wife, Kim Geon-hee, despite being aware of them. However, they found no evidence to support allegations of election law violations related to Kim's involvement in stock manipulation during the presidential campaign.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 announced on September 17 that Yoon has been indicted for violating the Anti-Corruption Law.
Yoon is accused of knowing that Kim received gifts worth approximately 5.4 million won, including a Dior bag valued at 3 million won, a Chanel cosmetics set worth 1.79 million won, and liquor worth 400,000 won, from Pastor Choi Jae-young between June and September 2022, yet failing to report this to relevant authorities such as the prosecution or the Board of Audit and Inspection.
Under the current Anti-Corruption Law, public officials must report any gifts received by their spouses that are related to their official duties without delay to their agency head or relevant investigative bodies.
Previously, in October 2024, prosecutors concluded that the gifts received by Kim had no relevance to Yoon's official duties and therefore did not warrant a reporting obligation, resulting in a decision not to prosecute.
However, following Yoon's impeachment, the Kim Geon-hee Special Investigation Team, led by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki, reopened the investigation. The police's Special Investigation Headquarters, which took over the remaining cases, recommended Yoon for indictment in June of this year. The prosecutors then reversed their earlier decision not to prosecute and charged Yoon after nearly two years.
In contrast, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Public Investigation Division 2, led by Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyung-won, dismissed allegations against Yoon regarding violations of the Public Election Act for lack of evidence.
During the presidential campaign, from October 2021 to February 2022, Yoon denied allegations of Kim's involvement in stock manipulation during televised debates, stating, "I entrusted stock trading to a specific individual and suffered losses, leading to a severance of ties," and asserted, "Kim has not participated in any stock manipulation."
Following these statements, Yoon was reported for allegedly disseminating false information for electoral gain. The police's Special Investigation Headquarters, after reviewing the facts and legal principles, concluded that Yoon's statements constituted false information and recommended charges.
However, prosecutors determined that Yoon's statements primarily concerned stock transactions that occurred between January and May 2010, prior to Kim's conviction for violating the Capital Markets Act in October 2010, making it difficult to classify them as false. They also noted that most of the transactions in question occurred before Yoon and Kim's marriage, and there was insufficient evidence to suggest that Yoon was aware of any falsehoods at the time of his statements.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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