Supreme Court issues additional detention warrant for Kim Keon Hee, extending detention by two months

[Financial News] The Supreme Court has issued an additional detention warrant for Kim Keon Hee, whose detention period is set to expire at the end of this month. As a result, she will remain in custody for about two more months, through the end of this year.
The Supreme Court's Second Division (presided over by Justice Sonia Sotomayor), which is hearing the case involving Kim's alleged sale of government posts, held a hearing on whether to issue a detention warrant at around 2:30 p.m. on the 27th and issued the warrant at around 6:32 p.m. The Supreme Court said, “There is a risk that she may destroy evidence or flee.”
Kim was indicted on charges of accepting expensive jewelry in connection with various requests for personnel appointments and favors, and was sentenced to five years in prison on appeal. The detention-warrant hearing lasted about 45 minutes, beginning at 2:30 p.m. that day. Kim reportedly took part by video link, spoke for about 15 minutes herself, and pleaded that she had been wronged.
Kim was reportedly heard denying the allegations, saying, “President Yoon Suk Yeol is such a clean and principled person—why would he entrust personnel appointments to me?” Her lawyers also requested a trial without detention, citing her deteriorating health and the need to protect her right to a defense.
By contrast, the special counsel team emphasized the risk of flight given the heavy sentence imposed by the lower court and the possibility of evidence destruction if the case is quashed and remanded.
Earlier, Kim was indicted while in custody in August last year in the “three major allegations” case and was sentenced to four years in prison on appeal. When the Supreme Court referred the case to its Grand Bench, delaying its ruling on the final appeal, the special counsel team asked the court handling the separate case involving the sale of government posts to issue an additional detention warrant on the 15th.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, a defendant's detention period is initially two months and may generally be extended to a maximum of six months at each court level. However, in the second and third trials, it may be renewed one additional time in unavoidable circumstances, allowing detention for up to eight months.
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter