[SNS of Jung Ji-won, former presidential office aide]
[SNS of Jung Ji-won, former presidential office aide]

A video showing former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee singing together at what appears to be their private residence has been made public.

Jung Ji-won, a former aide at the presidential office, posted the video on his SNS on Saturday, offering a glimpse of the couple's daily life before their detention.

In the footage, Kim sits at a dining table beside the kitchen, holding a microphone and singing. She then passes the microphone to Yoon, who is standing next to her in a white undershirt, and he joins in.

Jung wrote that the couple were "an affectionate pair who enjoyed 'The Phantom of the Opera' so much that they even practiced the soundtrack 'All I Ask of You' as a duet." He added that one of Kim's hobbies was teaching Yoon to sing.

Some observers have suggested the post may be part of an effort to build public sentiment in favor of Kim's release.

Kim's detention period in her Supreme Court appeal is set to expire Oct. 31. If the Supreme Court does not issue a ruling by then and no additional arrest warrant is issued in a separate case, she could be released.

Jung built his relationship with Kim through Kovana Contents and later handled protocol and administrative duties after becoming a presidential aide. At an appeal hearing in August in the so-called "influence-peddling" case, he took the stand and, fighting back tears, described Kim's health, saying she "had to lie down all day and barely ate, leaving her without the strength to stand."

Meanwhile, Yoon was re-detained on July 10 last year and is being held at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. Kim was detained on Aug. 12 last year and is held at Seoul Southern Detention Center in Guro-gu, Seoul.

Yoon has been sentenced to seven years in prison — now finalized — on charges of obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, and eight other criminal trials are ongoing. In the insurrection leadership case, he received a life sentence at trial and the appeal is underway. In a separate case involving the alleged dispatch of drones to Pyongyang, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison at trial and has appealed.

Kim received a second-instance sentence of four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won ($37,700) in cases involving Deutsch Motors share-price manipulation, alleged receipt of funds from the Unification Church, and allegations surrounding polling conducted by Myung Tae-kyun — and the case is now before the Supreme Court's full bench. In the so-called "influence-peddling" case, involving charges of aggravated brokerage corruption under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, she was sentenced to five years in prison at the appeal hearing on Sept. 22 and filed a final appeal the following day.


bbo@heraldcorp.com