(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Mi-ryeong = Former President Yoon Seok-yeol's wife, Kim Kun-hee, stood at a crossroads on the 27th between extending her detention and being released, four days before her arrest expired at the end of this month.
Ms. Kim spoke directly for about 15 minutes during the detention interrogation to determine whether to be further detained, complaining of injustice.
The 2nd Division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Oh Gyeong-mi), which is examining the case of Ms. Kim's suspicion of sales magic, conducted an arrest warrant interrogation in Court No. 1 of the Supreme Court for about 45 minutes starting at 2:30 pm on this day.
Mrs. Kim participated via video from Seoul Southern Detention Center, where she is currently imprisoned.
Mrs. Kim seemed to be at a loss for words and spoke directly for about 15 minutes to the effect that, "It was not that I was greedy, but I received the goods in good faith and returned them, and I had no involvement in personnel affairs, so I feel unfair about being involved."
He also directly stated that he wanted to come out and receive treatment due to his poor health.
Ms. Kim's lawyers emphasized that there was no reason for her arrest, such as fear of flight or destruction of evidence, during interrogation, and that it would be unfair to issue an additional warrant in the sale magic case on the grounds that the arrest in the three major suspicion cases had expired because it was a separate arrest.
The special prosecutor's team is known to have emphasized that there is a risk of flight as Jang-gi's sentence was sentenced in a lower court, and that there is a risk of evidence being destroyed as evidence must be examined again if the case is overturned and remanded by the Supreme Court.
Special Prosecutor Kim Han-soo of Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team left the courtroom after the interrogation and stated, "The reasons for the arrest are fully acknowledged," and that it is difficult to accept Ms. Kim's claim that it was a 'separate arrest.'
The results of the interrogation are expected to be released before the 31st, when the detention expires.
As the detention interrogation was completed in a short period of time, the results may be released as early as this evening.
If the court issues a new arrest warrant, Ms. Kim's detention period could be extended by up to an additional eight months.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the basic detention period for a defendant is 2 months, and when extended twice for an additional 2 months, in principle, the defendant can be detained for up to 6 months.
In the appellate and appellate trials, in unavoidable cases where additional hearings are necessary, it is possible to extend the detention once more, up to a maximum of 8 months each.
If the Supreme Court determines that Ms. Kim is at risk of fleeing, taking into account the fact that she was sentenced to prison on appeal, it is expected to issue a new arrest warrant.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the risk of escape or destruction of evidence has not been sufficiently demonstrated at this stage, there is a possibility that no additional arrest warrant will be issued.
In terms of the defendant's rights, it is somewhat burdensome to issue an additional warrant simply because the existing arrest has expired.
Before the interrogation, First Lady Kim Kun-hee reportedly told the defense team, "I will calmly respond to the interrogation process."
Attorney Chae Myeong-seong entered the court and emphasized, "The expiration of the detention period does not constitute a new reason for detention," and added, "If detention for separate reasons due to the expiration of detention becomes a regular practice, it will in itself destroy the principle of presumption of innocence and the principle of guaranteeing human rights under the Constitution."
Attorney Yoo Jeong-hwa said, "If the Supreme Court judges only according to legal principles, he will definitely be released, and if he considers real politics, his detention will be extended."
On the contrary, Special Prosecutor Kim Han-soo emphasized, "From any point of view, the reason and necessity of arrest are fully acknowledged."
Mrs. Kim was arrested and indicted by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team in August last year on three major suspicions (Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation, Myung Tae-gyun opinion poll, and Unification Church bribery).
He was sentenced to four years in prison in the second trial on April 28 of this year, but the appellate sentencing has been postponed as the Supreme Court referred the case to the plenary body to review suspicions regarding Myeong Tae-gyun's public opinion poll.
Meanwhile, the deadline for a possible arrest warrant in this case approached on the 31st.
As it became difficult to issue a sentence before the expiration of her arrest, the special prosecutor's team requested the appellate court in the sale magic case to issue an additional arrest warrant to avoid Ms. Kim's release.
Ms. Kim was sentenced to five years in prison in the second trial in the so-called sales magic case, in which she received expensive precious metals along with various requests for personnel and interest rights.
