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Kim Keon-hee

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(Redirected from Kim Kun-hee) First Lady of South Korea since 2022

For the South Korean footballer, see Kim Gun-hee. In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2025)
Kim Keon-hee
김건희
First Lady of South Korea
Incumbent
Assumed role
10 May 2022
PresidentYoon Suk Yeol (suspended)
Preceded byKim Jung-sook
Succeeded byChoi Ah-yong (temporarily)
Personal details
BornKim Myeong-sin
(1972-09-02) 2 September 1972 (age 52)
Yangpyeong County, South Korea
Spouse Yoon Suk Yeol ​(m. 2012)​
Parent
RelativesYoon Ki-jung (father-in-law)
ResidencePresidential residence
EducationKyonggi University (BA)
OccupationBusinesswoman
Signature
Korean name
Hangul김건희
Hanja金建希
Revised RomanizationGim Geonhui
McCune–ReischauerKim Kŏnhŭi
Birth name
Hangul김명신
Revised RomanizationGim Myeongsin
McCune–ReischauerKim Myŏngsin

Kim Keon-hee (Korean: 김건희; born 2 September 1972) is a South Korean businesswoman who has served as the First Lady of South Korea since 2022 as the wife of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Since 2009, she has been the chief executive officer and president of the art exhibition company Covana Contents.

Early life and education

Kim was born on 2 September 1972 with the name Kim Myeong-sin (김명신) in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea but legally changed her name to current name in 2008. Her father died when she was in middle school.

She attended Myungil Girls' High School before graduating from Kyonggi University with an arts degree.

Career

Kim with Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States in 2023

In 2009, Kim established Covana Contents, a company that specializes in art exhibitions, and has been serving as the chief executive officer and president since then.

Tax evasion, monetary kickbacks and stock manipulation

In 2019, the media reported that she had allegedly not paid taxes. Kim has been investigated for allegedly taking kickbacks for hosting art exhibitions.

In 2022, the opposition Democratic Party accused Kim and her family of manipulating the stock price of an auto dealership. She is also accused of allegedly breaching anti-corruption law by her acceptance of US$2,200 Dior handbag as a gift and of interference in elections.

In 2023, courts found that Kim had entrusted her bank accounts to scammers who manipulated the stock price of the Deutsch Motors automotive import company. Although other people who lent out their accounts in this way were convicted of aiding and abetting the scheme, Kim was cleared of allegations by her husband's justice department.

Academic falsification

In 2021, there were reports that Kim had inflated her résumé with connections to the New York University Stern School of Business. In a press conference, she later publicly apologized and promised only "to focus on role as Yoon's spouse even if Yoon is elected." Following her promise, Yoon included abolition of Office of the First Lady within the Office of the President in his campaign promise.

Kim's academic writings have come under scrutiny for suspected plagiarism. In August 2022, Kookmin University, where Kim obtained a PhD, said it found no misconduct. The statement sparked a strong reaction from the university community, and a panel of sixteen professors across academia released their own findings to support allegations of Kim's plagiarism during her master's study at Sookmyung Women's University and her doctoral study at Kookmin. In December 2024, a preliminary internal review from Sookmyung Women's University concluded that she had plagiarized her 1999 master's thesis at the university. Kim was given until the end of January 2025 to dispute the decision.

Rival parties in South Korea hold different opinions on the issue and have accused each other of being motivated by politics.

Personal life

Her mother is Choi Eun-sun [ko], who was tried and acquitted on charges of operating an elderly care hospital without a medical license from 2013 to 2015. In July 2023, she was sentenced to one-year in prison for real estate fraud. She was paroled in May 2024.

Kim married Yoon Suk Yeol in 2012. On 10 March 2022, upon her husband's election as president-elect of South Korea, Kim stated that she preferred the term 'President's Spouse' to 'First Lady'.

Kim and Yoon own six dogs and five cats. Among their pets were two Turkmen shepherd puppies gifted by Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow during their visit in June 2024. Initially raised at the presidential residence, the Turkmen puppies were transferred to the Seoul Grand Park Zoo in November 2024 for safety reasons due to their size and growth.

Honours

References

  1. ^ Shankar, Priyanka. "Who is Kim Keon-hee, described as South Korea's 'Lady Macbeth'?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  2. "Yoon's explanation unlikely to quell first lady's Dior bag scandal". The Korea Times. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  3. ^ [단독]김건희 "'영부인'보다 '대통령 배우자' 표현이 좋아". The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  4. ^ [여성조선] 전시장에서 만난 윤석열 검찰총장 후보 부인 김건희 대표... 60억대 자산가. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 28 June 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  5. [단독]윤석열 후보자 부인, 세금 체납으로 세차례 집 압류. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). 22 June 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  6. "Choo orders Yoon to be walled off from two probes". Korea JoongAng Daily. 20 October 2020.
  7. "Who is South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee? From Dior bag scandal to martial law fallout". South China Morning Post. 12 December 2024.
  8. "Korean first lady's accounts used in Deutsch Motors stock manipulation, court rules". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). No. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  9. "South Korea's First Lady cleared of stock manipulation allegations". Straits Times. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  10. Yoo-sang, Osyoo (24 December 2021). [단독]뉴욕대 "김건희 5일 연수…학력·학점 불인정 기업체 위탁 유료과정" [ New York University: "Kim Gun-hee's 5-day training... Paid course commissioned by a company that does not recognize academic qualifications or credits"]. New Herald Economy (in Korean). Retrieved 10 March 2022 – via Naver News.
  11. Park, Ro-myeong (26 December 2021). 김건희 대국민 사과 후...11개 의혹 조목조목 해명. Herald Corporation (in Korean). Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  12. 김건희 "잘 보이려 경력 부풀려" 대국민 사과. No Cut News (in Korean). 26 December 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  13. 김건희 씨 기자회견…허위이력 논란 등 대국민 사과. YTN (in Korean). 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  14. 이, 지영 (31 March 2022). '영부인 보좌' 靑 제2부속실…尹측 "공약대로 폐지는 폐지다". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  15. ^ Lee, Hae-rin (7 September 2022). "First lady continues to be mired in plagiarism allegations". The Korea Times.
  16. Eun-byel, Im (17 August 2022). "Plagiarism allegations hound first lady". The Korea Herald.
  17. Bo-ram, Park (3 January 2023). "University launches probe into plagiarism allegations on first lady's master's thesis". Yonhap News Agency.
  18. "Sookmyung concludes first lady Kim plagiarized master's thesis: sources". The Korea Times. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  19. Kang, Yeon-ju (7 September 2022). "Verification Panel, "First Lady Kim Keon-hee's Kookmin University Dissertation Goes Beyond Plagiarism. It is a Forgery... a Criminal Act"". Kyunghyang Shinmun.
  20. "South Korean first lady plagiarised master's thesis, university concludes". South China Morning Post. 9 January 2025.
  21. Jae-Yeon, Woo (21 July 2023). "Yoon's mother-in-law detained as appeals court upholds 1-year term for forging bank balance certificate". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  22. "Yoon's jailed mother-in-law expected to undergo parole review next week". Yonhap News Agency. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  23. Boram, Park (9 May 2024). "Justice minister approves parole for Yoon's jailed mother-in-law". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  24. Choi, Jae-hee (12 November 2024). "Dogs gifted by Turkmenistan's president move into zoo". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  25. "Korea and Poland sign MOUs on nuclear power, tech and Ukraine". Korea JoongAng Daily. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

External links

Honorary titles
Preceded byKim Jung-sook First Lady of South Korea
2022–present 		Incumbent
Categories:
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