Kim Keon-hee’s arrest: how a lie about a diamond pendant put her behind bars

The downfall of South Korea’s former first lady hinged on a complex cover-up over a diamond-studded necklace worn to a Nato summit in 2022

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Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee wears a diamond pendant at a dinner with her husband, former president Yoon Suk-yeol during the Nato summit on June 29, 2022. Photo: Presidential Photography Group

Published: 12:25pm, 13 Aug 2025Updated: 5:43pm, 13 Aug 2025

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 stonewalled during questioning, triggering the court’s decision to have her thrown in jail.

For Kim, who faces a storm of criminal charges, the diamond pendant has become a symbol of her transformation from high society to low life.

Immediately after the Seoul Central District Court approved prosecutors’ request to remand her on Tuesday, the 52-year-old was taken to the Seoul Nambu Detention Centre.

South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

“Her alleged deception regarding the disputed jewellery apparently played a key role in persuading the court to approve a pre-trial detention warrant,” Gang Moon-dae, a pro-democracy lawyer, told This Week in Asia.

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