Top court to hold hearing on new arrest warrant for jailed ex-first lady

The Supreme Court was scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday to decide whether to issue a new arrest warrant for jailed former first lady Kim Keon Hee to continue to keep her in custody.

The hearing was set to take place at 2:30 p.m. after special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team requested the warrant for Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Kim is currently standing trial at the Supreme Court in two separate cases — the first on corruption charges and the other on bribery-related charges.

Min’s team requested the new warrant based on the second case, as her existing warrant on corruption charges will expire Saturday before a final verdict.

She will attend her arrest warrant hearing virtually from the Seoul Nambu Detention Center, where she has been held since August 2025.

The top court is expected to make a decision on the warrant as early as later in the day.

The hearing takes place as the Supreme Court is currently reviewing Kim’s sentences by appellate court benches — a four-year prison sentence in the corruption case and a five-year prison sentence in the bribery case.

The top court’s proceedings for the first case have been drawn out after they were referred to its full bench in July.

The trial centers on charges that Kim was involved in a stock price manipulation scheme, accepted luxury gifts from the Unification Church and received free opinion poll results from a self-proclaimed power broker.

The second trial revolves around charges that Kim accepted expensive gifts from multiple people in return for job appointments and business favors.