https://www.scmp.com/rss/522325/feed The latest news and top stories on Deutsch Motors Inc. A leading entity in the automotive sector, Seoul South Korea based Deutsch Motors Inc. specialises in marketing imported BMW and Mini Cooper automobiles. They primarily serve the South Korean market offering new and used cars alongside auto finance and repair services. The company is notably implicated in a stock manipulation scheme between 2009 and 2012 linked to the former First Lady, a matter currently under ongoing investigation. Their... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon-hee to 20 months in prison for corruption on Wednesday but acquitted her of alleged stock manipulation and other charges. While the ruling marked the first time that both members of a presidential couple were convicted of crimes in South Korea, analysts described Kim’s lighter punishment as a “courtroom victory” after prosecutors sought a 15-year jail term, a 2 billion won (US$1.4 million) fine and 948 million won in forfeiture for the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341511/south-koreas-ex-first-lady-kim-keon-hee-gets-20-months-jail-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341511/south-koreas-ex-first-lady-kim-keon-hee-gets-20-months-jail-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:27:00 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s special prosecutors have sought a 15-year jail term for former first lady Kim Keon-hee, describing her as someone who has long been “beyond the reach of law enforcement”. Kim, the wife of impeached ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol, faces multiple corruption allegations, including stock manipulation, bribery and illegal electioneering. The court’s verdict is set for January 28. The demand on Wednesday came about three months after Kim was indicted – just a year following Yoon’s botched... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335142/south-koreas-kim-keon-hee-feels-wronged-many-ways-prosecutors-seek-15-year-jail-term?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335142/south-koreas-kim-keon-hee-feels-wronged-many-ways-prosecutors-seek-15-year-jail-term?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 03:50:39 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong The indictment of former first lady Kim Keon-hee on corruption charges has thrown a spotlight on the collapse of institutional checks during her husband’s presidency, prompting fresh calls to strengthen oversight and transparency measures. The wife of former president Yoon Suk-yeol was charged on Friday with stock manipulation, bribery and the receipt of illicit political funds by a team of investigators led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki. This is the first time in South Korea’s history that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3323650/south-koreas-cronyism-culture-trial-kim-keon-hees-corruption-charge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3323650/south-koreas-cronyism-culture-trial-kim-keon-hees-corruption-charge?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 02:00:08 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong A diamond pendant worth tens of thousands of dollars, once worn by former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee on an official trip, has become the unlikely catalyst for her fall from grace. The luxury item, and its meticulously crafted fake, are now at the centre of a criminal case that saw Kim detained late on Tuesday pending trial, accused of deception, obstruction and a decade-long pattern of alleged wrongdoing. Investigators say Kim lied about the pendant’s origin, staged a cover-up and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321667/kim-keon-hees-arrest-how-lie-about-diamond-pendant-put-her-behind-bars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321667/kim-keon-hees-arrest-how-lie-about-diamond-pendant-put-her-behind-bars?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 04:25:26 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s scandal-plagued former first lady Kim Keon-hee walked into court on Tuesday, head bowed and looking visibly tense, for a hearing that could make her the first ex-presidential spouse in the country’s history to be jailed on criminal charges. Wearing a dark jacket and skirt with a white blouse, her hair pulled back, Kim brushed past pool reporters without a word as she climbed the stairs to the courtroom. A ruling on whether to remand her for questioning or allow her to remain free... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321513/south-koreas-former-first-lady-battles-jail-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321513/south-koreas-former-first-lady-battles-jail-time?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Aug 2025 02:28:35 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Clad in sombre attire and flanked by flashing cameras, Kim Keon-hee offered a rare apology on Wednesday as she became the first of South Korea’s first ladies to face public questioning – a symbolic reckoning in a country where political scandal rarely fades away quietly. The wife of ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol is being investigated by special prosecutors scrutinising her putative role in a web of alleged corruption, stock manipulation and political interference. As Kim, 52, arrived at the Seoul... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3320896/kim-keon-hees-reckoning-public-grilling-south-koreas-scandal-plagued-ex-first-lady?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3320896/kim-keon-hees-reckoning-public-grilling-south-koreas-scandal-plagued-ex-first-lady?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 03:44:08 +0000