South Korea is once again in the throes of political turmoil, as the nation grapples with the fallout from the indictment of former first lady Kim Keon Hee and ex-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The charges, announced on August 29, 2025, cap a dramatic chapter in South Korean politics—one marked by a failed attempt to impose martial law, allegations of corruption, and a broader reckoning with the legacy of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.
According to AP, the indictments are part of sweeping investigations into Yoon’s administration and his controversial declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024. That decision, lasting only a few hours, triggered months of chaos: politics ground to a halt, foreign policy was thrown off balance, and the economy took a hit. The reverberations were so severe that Yoon was impeached and removed from office in April 2025, only to be rearrested the following month after his conservative party lost an early election.
Kim Keon Hee, Yoon’s wife, faces a litany of charges. Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team charged her with violating financial market and political funding laws, receiving bribes, and amassing over 1 billion won (about $720,000) in criminal proceeds, as reported by CNBC. The indictment details a stock manipulation scheme from 2010 to 2012, which allegedly netted illicit profits of over 810 million won. Kim is also accused of conspiring with her husband to receive 270 million won worth of opinion poll data for free between June 2021 and March 2022, and of accepting 80 million won in bribes and valuables from the Unification Church in 2022 in exchange for her support.
Kim’s response to the charges has been measured but firm. Earlier in August, she apologized for causing public concern, yet hinted she would deny the allegations. In a statement released through her lawyers, Kim said the media was reporting suspicions as though they were “confirmed fact” and that she plans to “quietly attend the trials.” She described herself as “someone insignificant,” a comment that has drawn both sympathy and skepticism from the public and political observers alike.
The investigation’s reach extends well beyond Kim. Han Duck-soo, who served as Yoon’s prime minister and briefly as acting leader after Yoon’s impeachment, was indicted on charges of abetting the martial law declaration—an act prosecutors say amounted to rebellion—along with perjury, falsifying and destroying official documents, and lying under oath. Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk’s team emphasized Han’s role in attempting to give “procedural legitimacy” to Yoon’s decree by pushing it through a Cabinet Council meeting. Assistant special counsel Park Ji-young noted in a televised briefing that Han “was the highest official who could have blocked Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law,” yet still played an “active” role in the process.
Han, for his part, has maintained that he opposed Yoon’s martial law plan. The Seoul Central District Court, however, dismissed a request for his arrest on August 27, 2025, citing a low risk of flight or evidence destruction. After serving as acting leader following Yoon’s impeachment, Han resigned to seek his party’s presidential nomination but failed to secure it.
The scope of the investigation is staggering. According to Yonhap, dozens of people have been arrested or investigated in connection with the martial law debacle, corruption allegations involving Kim, and other controversies from Yoon’s three years in office—including an alleged cover-up of a marine’s drowning death during a 2023 flood rescue operation. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun is among the key suspects, accused of planning martial law with Yoon and dispatching troops to the National Assembly in an unsuccessful bid to block lawmakers from lifting martial law. More than 60 people were indicted for rioting at a Seoul court that issued Yoon’s first arrest warrant in January 2025.
Political intrigue is never far from the surface in South Korea’s presidential history. Nearly every former president—or their family members and aides—has faced scandal or prosecution after leaving office. Kim Keon Hee’s indictment marks the first time a former first lady has been jailed and indicted, while Yoon and Kim are the first former presidential couple to be jailed simultaneously over criminal allegations. The last two presidents from Yoon’s party, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, both served lengthy prison terms for corruption before being pardoned and released.
The martial law episode, which many critics have called surprising and poorly planned, unfolded against a backdrop of intense political standoff. Some political opponents have speculated that Yoon’s move was at least partly motivated by efforts to frustrate an opposition-led push to open an independent investigation into his wife’s alleged wrongdoing. Kim and Yoon are also suspected of exerting undue influence on the conservative People Power Party to nominate a favored candidate in a 2022 legislative by-election, allegedly at the behest of election broker Myung Tae-kyun. Myung is accused of conducting free, manipulated opinion surveys that may have helped Yoon win the party’s presidential primaries ahead of his 2022 election victory.
These high-profile indictments come as President Lee Jae Myung, who approved legislation in June 2025 for investigations into Yoon’s martial law bid and related allegations, seeks to restore public trust in government. Yoon had previously vetoed such investigations while in office, according to domestic media cited by CNBC. The probes have even led to raids on a church in South Korea and Osan Air Base, a joint U.S.-South Korean military installation. These actions caught the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who referenced the raids ahead of his meeting with President Lee, describing them as “very vicious raids on churches” and involving a military base. Trump later softened his stance, saying, “I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”
As the legal process unfolds, the South Korean public is left to weigh the implications of these unprecedented events. The spectacle of a former president, first lady, and prime minister facing criminal charges—alongside dozens of other officials and political operatives—has reignited debates about accountability, the rule of law, and the cyclical nature of scandal in South Korean politics.
While the trials and investigations may take months or even years to resolve, one thing is clear: the saga of Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration has left an indelible mark on the nation’s political landscape, forcing a reckoning with both the past and the future of South Korean democracy.