South Korean prosecutors are preparing to investigate former first lady Kim Keon-hee over election law violations as scrutiny into her conduct intensifies following the ousting of impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol.
Kim is accused of interfering in candidate nominations during a 2022 National Assembly by-election.
“Now that the shield of being the first lady is gone, prosecutors are likely to go after her with full force,” Kim Nam-kook, a political-science professor at Korea University, told This Week in Asia.
“The opposition is also pushing for special investigations into the presidential couple as part of their campaign strategy ahead of the snap presidential election,” he said, referring to the June 3 race to find Yoon’s successor.
“The allegations surrounding the couple are political fodder for the opposition,” Kim added.
Choi Jin, head of the independent Institute for Presidential Leadership, said Yoon’s wife was believed to have encouraged him to defy last Friday’s ruling by the Constitutional Court that upheld his impeachment.
