{
  "id": 13600795,
  "title": "Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Gun-hee's lawyer “The 2.1 billion won seized is in the spirit of encouragement and solidarity,” countered.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/21",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T23:24:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hankyoreh",
    "slug": "hankyoreh",
    "url": "https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1281758.html"
  },
  "original_language": "ko",
  "account": "Former President 윤석열 and First Lady 김건희 received a total of 21.9 billion South Korean won in 영치금, or \"blessings money,\" from citizens, according to a recent report. Their legal representatives, 유정화 변호사, have denied the allegations, stating that the 영치금 was not a lump sum from a corporation or special background but a voluntary show of support from millions of citizens. 변호사 emphasized that the 영치금 was a \"voluntary act of encouragement and unity\" from citizens across the nation, donating anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 won each. The 윤석열 and 김건희 couple received a combined total of 21.9 billion won, equivalent to around 8 times the current president's annual salary. 영치금 are generally taxable, but personal donations below 50 million won are tax-exempt. 변호사 argued that 영치금 could be legitimately used for the defense of the duo, stating that it is a \"legitimate and lawful exercise of the right to defense\" necessary for handling numerous trials. 유 변호사 criticized the opposition party for \"wizardry against justice\" by using 영치금 as a political tool during the committee's review of the government's audit.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}