South Korean investigators have set their sights on former First Lady Kim Keon-hee, dragging her into a sprawling cryptocurrency fraud investigation that reads like a K-drama gone wrong. The twist? She’s suspected of having ties to Jon Bur Kim (who actually goes by Park) – a notorious figure accused of orchestrating massive “scam coin” schemes that bilked investors out of hundreds of billions of won.
The special prosecution team isn’t messing around. They’re digging deep into whether Kim played puppet master in market manipulation schemes during her time as First Lady. Prosecutors have specifically targeted lesser-known cryptocurrencies in their probe of market manipulation. Talk about a fall from grace. Her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, already got the boot in early 2025 after a spectacularly failed attempt at martial law. Now it’s her turn in the hot seat.
The investigation has more layers than a winter kimchi jar. There’s Lee Jong-ho, a former bigwig at Blackpearl Invest and Kim’s supposed buddy, who allegedly took a neat $58,000 bribe to swing judicial decisions. The money trail? It might lead right back to Kim’s bank accounts. Convenient. Among Park’s seized assets were luxury supercars and cryptocurrency worth hundreds of billions of won.
Park, the main player in this crypto circus, tried to make a run for China in 2023. Didn’t work out so well – he got nabbed while allegedly running schemes involving dubious coins like Atube and Podo. Now prosecutors are connecting the dots between his operation and Kim’s alleged involvement.
The special counsel, led by prosecutor Min Joong-ki, isn’t taking any chances. They’ve formally requested every scrap of documentation linking Kim to these crypto shenanigans. While they haven’t dropped a smoking gun yet, the investigation’s tentacles keep spreading.
Former President Yoon’s also getting dragged into questioning – because apparently, this drama needed another plot twist.
It’s a stark reminder that in South Korea’s high-stakes world of political and financial crime, even former First Ladies aren’t immune from scrutiny. The investigation continues, and the nation watches with popcorn in hand.
