# Kim Keon-hee

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 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

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. Rival parties in South Korea hold different opinions on the issue and have accused each other of being motivated by politics. 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. Kim did not dispute the decision within the given window.

### Alleged association with martial law

On 17 February, a criminal investigation into first lady Kim Keon-hee was called for alleged involvement in the 2024 martial law declaration to cover up election interference.

## Personal life

Kim's 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.
On January 17, 2025, several officials at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong expressed concerns about Kim's health, describing her as “looking worryingly emaciated". These officials noted that Kim had turned "so thin that it worries [them]. She was completely skinny".

## Honours

* Poland: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (13 July 2023)