South Korea’s former First Lady, Kim Keon-Hee, has been indicted on charges including bribery, stock manipulation, and financial market offences.

She is the first former first lady in the nation's history to face such charges.

Simultaneously, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has been indicted for abetting insurrection and perjury.

Both Kim and her husband, the ousted President Yoon Suk-Yeol, are in custody.

Yoon is currently standing trial on insurrection charges following a controversial attempt to impose martial law last December.

The indictments form part of a special prosecution investigation launched after President Lee Jae-Myung assumed office in June.

Authorities allege Kim profited illicitly through stock manipulation between 2010 and 2012, accruing approximately 810 million won in unfair gains, and received bribes worth 80 million won, including luxury items from a religious organisation, in exchange for influence.

Her legal team has denied all allegations and criticised news reports as speculative.

Kim issued a statement saying she would “make no excuses” and face trial, adding, “Just as moonlight shines brightly in the darkest night, I too will endure this time, looking to my truth and heart.”

Han Duck-soo, a long-time technocrat who briefly served as acting president after Yoon’s impeachment, is accused of supporting the martial law decree, falsifying official documents, and lying under oath.

Prosecutors described him as “the highest constitutional institution that could have stopped the president’s unconstitutional martial law.” His earlier impeachment was overturned, and he resigned during the subsequent presidential election campaign.

The simultaneous legal downfall of Kim and Yoon extends a tradition of scandal surrounding recent administrations in South Korea.

Kim’s controversies have shadowed Yoon’s presidency for over 15 years, inflicting political damage on him and his party.

The unfolding legal proceedings underscore the escalating intensity of the country’s political upheaval.