South Korea: As it revealed the findings of its inquiry, the team led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki of South Korea charged former First Lady Kim Keon Hee with unlawfully meddling in state matters “behind the curtains” on Monday.

In a news conference one day after its 180-day investigation into Kim’s alleged wrongdoing was formally ended, the team brought up the claim against Kim, the wife of ousted former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“The special counsel investigation confirmed the president’s spouse engaged in the modern-day sale of public offices, something expected to be found in history books, and illegally intervened in state affairs behind the curtains, out of the public’s sight,” Kim Hyong-kun, assistant special counsel, said.

The squad also accused Kim last week on allegations that she accepted opulent presents from entrepreneurs and others in return for political nominations and government posts.

Kim is charged with accepting gifts from a former prosecutor totaling 370 million won ($258,000), including a 140 million won painting, in exchange for her backing of his campaign to secure the People Power Party’s (PPP) candidacy in the general elections last year.

Min’s team has concentrated on three main allegations since its July launch: Kim’s purported participation in a stock price manipulation scam, her purported acceptance of free opinion surveys from a self-described power broker, and her purported receipt of opulent gifts from the Unification Church.

During the investigation, the team indicted dozens of individuals, including Kim and her husband, and put 20 others, including Kim, under arrest.

According to the Yonhap news agency, Kim is specifically charged with collaborating with a former head of Deutsch Motors, a South Korean BMW dealer, and a close colleague to influence the company’s stock price and gain 810 million won ($561,000) in illicit profits between 2010 and 2012.

A self-described power broker is said to have given her and her husband free opinion surveys worth 270 million won in advance of the 2022 presidential election.

Oh Jeong-hee, assistant special counsel, said that since Yoon entered politics, Kim has taken on a “leading role” and that the pair behaved as a “political union” after Yoon’s election.

In addition, Kim is accused of accepting opulent gifts totaling 80 million won from the Unification Church in return for commercial favors in 2022 and of participating in a plot to enlist a large number of Unification Church members for the PPP before to its 2023 leadership contest.