South Korea’s First Lady Kim Keon-hee is at the centre of a political storm in what’s been a tumultuous time for President Yoon Suk-Yeol and his administration. Days after the president imposed martial law, albeit briefly, on December 3, social media posts suggested it was meant to protect her from scrutiny.
One meme, reported by the SCMP on December 12, referred to President Yoon as “the greatest lover who declared martial law for his wife.” Other memes compared Kim to historical figures such as Lady Macbeth, known for persuading her husband to commit regicide for power, and Marie Antoinette, often seen as out of touch with the public during crises.
The South Korean Opposition has been critical of the 52-year-old and called for a probe into her alleged offences including stock manipulation and corruption.
Who is Kim Keon-hee?
Born Kim Myeong-sin in September 1972 in Gyeonggi Province, she changed her name in 2008 to Kim Keon-hee.
Kim graduated with an arts degree from Kyonggi University and founded an art exhibition company, Covana Contents, in 2009.
She married President Yoon Suk-yeol in 2012. The couple has no children but owns six dogs and five cats.
Kim is an animal rights advocate, aiming to end dog meat consumption in South Korea before her husband’s presidential term ends. Known for her fashion choices, she was hailed as a “fashionista” during the 2022 NATO Summit for her outfits.
Kim Keon-hee: Controversies
In 2021, it came to light that Kim made false claims on her CV while applying for teaching positions. In 2007, she applied for a position at the University of Suwon, claiming to have worked as the director of the Korea Association of Game Industry (K-Games) since 2002. However, K-Games was established in 2004, and Kim never worked there. She also claimed to have studied at New York University in 2006, but the programme she mentioned was only available to MBA students, and Kim was not enrolled. In 2013, she submitted a resume to Anyang University, claiming she had won a 2004 Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival prize, but the event had no record of her receiving any award, reported a Korean outlet.
Just before Yoon’s presidency in 2022, Kim and her mother were accused of manipulating stock prices for Deutsch Motors, profiting 2.3 billion won. She was later cleared of the charges in October 2023, though her account had been involved. Earlier this year, President Yoon vetoed a bill that sought to investigate his wife over the allegations against her, BBC reported.
The First Lady was also criticised for accepting a $2,200 Christian Dior handbag in November 2022 from a Korean-American pastor seeking influence with the president. While the controversy raised accusations of corruption, prosecutors later decided not to pursue charges.
In a 2023 documentary, Kim allegedly claimed to have significant influence over her husband, saying, “that fool is just a puppet,” and making inappropriate comments during recorded phone conversations.
President Yoon, who served as South Korea’s prosecutor general from 2019 to 2021 before becoming president, has consistently supported his wife. In an interview with The Times, he said his wife “has been suffering a lot” due to his political career and claimed the media has “demonised” her.
