SEOUL — South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee will spend her first day in jail on Wednesday in a cell much like the one her husband and ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol occupies as prosecutors pursue the once high-flying couple in a widening criminal probe.

Ms. Kim was formally booked into the Seoul Nambu Detention Center on the western edge of the capital, a comparatively new correctional facility that opened in 2011 and one of the few run by a female warden.

She will be treated in the same way as other inmates but will receive minor adjustments in her daily routine given her status as a high-profile figure, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Ms. Kim was imprisoned after a court approved a warrant for her arrest late on Tuesday on the grounds that she might destroy evidence amid an ongoing investigation into allegations of bribery, stock fraud and influence peddling.

Ms. Kim’s lawyers have denied the accusations against her and dismissed as groundless speculation news reports about some of the gifts she allegedly received in return for favors.

Ms. Kim apologized for causing concern in the country and called herself “a nobody” as she appeared for questioning last week.

Her solitary cell has a small table that can be used as a desk and for eating meals and a floor mattress to sleep on, said the source, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Ms. Kim will have separate access to a common shower room and be allowed to exercise outdoors for an hour every day except on Sundays, the time staggered to avoid overlap with other inmates, the source said.

Prison will be an entirely new experience for Ms. Kim, unlike for her husband who has already spent about 100 days in jail.

Mr. Yoon is on trial over his botched attempt to impose martial law, on charges of insurrection, an accusation he denies. He has been imprisoned at the Seoul Detention Center, which despite its name is outside the capital to the south.

‘POLITICAL MIND’
The former first couple had lived in a spacious apartment in an upscale district of Seoul before Mr. Yoon’s election as president in May 2022 and had returned there after his ouster for the martial law decree that resulted in a political disaster for him, his party and now for his wife.

Ms. Kim is a wealthy businesswoman in her own right and most of the couple’s assets including the apartment belong to her, according to a government database.

Now, Ms. Kim will receive the same food as the average inmate, usually traditional Korean fare prepared at a cost of about 1,500 won ($1.08) per meal. On Wednesday, toast with strawberry jam, sausages and salad were on the menu for breakfast.

A fine art expert who founded and ran a successful curation agency, Ms. Kim has been embroiled in a number of scandals before and after her husband’s election in 2022, with the controversies at times overshadowing Mr. Yoon’s turbulent presidency.

Her fashion choices and policy lobbying in areas like promoting a ban on eating dog meat made her controversial in a country where a first lady has typically kept a low profile.

Han Dong-soo, a former judge and a prosecutor who worked with Mr. Yoon, said Ms. Kim had “a politically strategic mind” and was a driving force behind her husband’s ascent to top office.

After she married Mr. Yoon when he was 52, Ms. Kim became the main influence of practically all of his thinking and decisions, Han said. Ms. Kim was 39 when they wed.

“Kim Keon Hee chose him,” said Mr. Han. “And she gave him the strategy and energy to be president.” — Reuters

LONDON/BRUSSELS — The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached “unimaginable levels,” Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

“Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation,” the foreign ministers of 24 countries said in a joint statement.

“We call on the government of Israel to provide authorization for all international NGO (non-governmental organizations) aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating,” the statement said.

“All crossings and routes must be used to allow a flood of aid into Gaza, including food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine and medical equipment.”

Israel has denied responsibility for hunger spreading in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies. However, in response to a rising international uproar, Israel late last month announced steps to let more aid into the enclave, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.

Western capitals, however, say much more aid is needed and some countries have started airdrops with aid over Gaza.

The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain.

The European Union (EU) later on Tuesday sent an updated statement to include EU member states Italy and Latvia as signatories of the statement.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and two other members of the European Commission also signed the statement.

Some EU member countries, including Germany and Hungary, did not sign it. — Reuters

BEIJING — China’s military said on Wednesday it monitored and “drove away” a US destroyer that sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the busy waterway of the South China Sea, while the US Navy said its action was in line with international law.

The first known US military operation in at least six years within the shoal’s waters came a day after the Philippines accused Chinese vessels of “dangerous maneuvers and unlawful interference” during a supply mission around the atoll.

In a statement, the Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command said the USS Higgins had entered the waters “without approval of the Chinese government” on Wednesday.

“The US move seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, severely undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea,” it added, vowing to keep a “high alert at all times.”

The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the Higgins had “asserted navigational rights and freedoms” near the Scarborough Shoal “consistent with international law.”

The operation reflected the US commitment to uphold freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the sea, it told Reuters in an e-mailed statement.

“The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us.”

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The US regularly carries out “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea, challenging what it says are curbs on innocent passage imposed by China and other claimants.

The Scarborough Shoal has been a major source of tension in the strategic South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

The actions of Chinese vessels in the shoal this week also resulted in a collision of two of them, Manila said, the first such known in the area.

China’s coast guard said it had taken “necessary measures” to expel Philippine vessels from the waters.

In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled there was no basis in international law for Beijing’s claims, based on its historic maps. China does not recognize that decision, however. — Reuters