South Korean prosecutors raided the home of former president Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee on Wednesday, in a major escalation of a corruption probe into alleged influence peddling and back room deals linked to the former first couple.
This marks the first time prosecutors have conducted a court-approved raid against the former presidential couple. The investigation is separate from the ongoing criminal probe into Yoon’s controversial December 3 martial law decree that led to his impeachment.
“We have begun executing a search and seizure warrant at the former president’s residence” concerning allegations of influence peddling involving an intermediary named Jeon Seong-bae, the Seoul Nambu District Prosecutors’ Office said.
While Yoon was in office, critics accused prosecutors of hesitating to pursue cases involving the presidential couple, particularly given Yoon’s former position as their boss.
“It shows prosecutors are now deadly serious,” Choi Jin, head of the Institute for Presidential Leadership, told This Week in Asia.
“In my memory, this is the first time a former president’s private home has been searched in this manner,” he said.
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