Seoul: A special counsel team on Friday further indicted former first lady Kim Keon Hee on charges of taking luxury gifts, including a designer necklace and watch, from multiple people seeking business favors. Charges against Kim include taking Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry worth more than 100 million won (US$69,213) from the chairman of a construction company in 2022 and receiving a gold turtle the same year from Lee Bae-yong, who was later named head of the National Education Commission.

According to Yonhap News Agency, along with Kim, six people were indicted, including the two, on charges of providing valuables to the former first lady in exchange for business favors in or around 2022, the investigation team said. The special counsel team earlier indicted Kim, the wife of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, on separate charges of corruption and bribery, for which prosecutors sought a 15-year prison term earlier this month.

The construction company chairman offered the luxury jewelry in return for having his son-in-law appointed to an official post, while Lee allegedly sought to be named head of the commission. Charges against the former first lady also included receiving a luxury watch from a businessperson seeking a favor, and taking a Dior handbag from a Korean American pastor who secretly filmed his meeting with Kim and made the video public through an internet news outlet in 2023.

In the Dior handbag case, prosecutors had earlier decided not to indict Kim, but the decision has been appealed. The special counsel team initially considered charging Kim with bribery but did not include the charge, after failing to establish that Yoon had been aware of her receipt of the gifts.

The investigation team, whose mandated term is set to expire soon, plans to hand the suspected bribery charge over to the police for further investigation. It also said all criminal proceeds obtained by Kim will be thoroughly confiscated.