(LEAD) Ex-President Yoon, wife reunite in court after 9 months

(ATTN: UPDATES with details throughout)
By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) — Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, met in a courtroom on Tuesday in their first reunion since July when Yoon was placed under custody over his failed martial law bid.

Kim, who has also been jailed since August over various corruption charges, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court to testify in her husband’s trial on charges that he violated the Political Funds Act by accepting free opinion poll results ahead of his election in March 2022.

As she entered the room, propped up by correctional officers, Yoon fixed his gaze on her. When she took an oath and sat down, he smiled faintly with his mouth closed.

The former first lady was dressed in her typical attire for court appearances, consisting of a black suit and a white shirt, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

In response to more than 40 questions from special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team, she said she would not testify and mostly sat in her seat, slightly hunched and looking downward.

During the 30-odd minutes that Kim was questioned, Yoon watched her most of the time, and when she stood up to leave, smiled broadly with a quick nod. Kim, however, appeared to avoid eye contact with her husband.

The former first lady was summoned at the request of the special counsel team. She and her husband were indicted on charges of accepting 270 million won (US$183,000) worth of opinion poll results for free from a self-proclaimed power broker in exchange for securing the nomination of former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun for a parliamentary by-election in June 2022.

The former first lady has been standing trial separately over the same case and was acquitted in the first-instance trial in January.

During Tuesday’s session, the court said it plans to end the trial’s hearings next month, with the verdict likely to be handed down sometime in June.

The couple had previously appeared at the same court on the same day for different cases, but they never met as correctional officers made arrangements so they would not cross paths.