Former first lady Kim Keon-hee, who is being tried for alleged stock fraud and other corruption crimes, appeared before a special counsel team on Thursday for questioning over suspicions she received luxury gifts from other local business leaders.

Kim arrived at special counsel Min Joong-ki's office in downtown Seoul at 1:50 p.m., marking the second time she has shown up for questioning since she was placed in pre-trial detention in August.

Kim’s lawyers told reporters that the former first lady exercised her right to remain silent or refused to make a statement during the three-hour hearing, exiting the courtroom at 5:15 p.m.

The special counsel team focused their questioning on allegations that Kim received high-end valuables as gifts in exchange for influence peddling.

In particular, they asked whether Kim received jewelry, such as a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace, from Seohee Construction Chairman Lee Bong-gwan shortly after her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, took office.

The Seohee Construction chairman told the special counsel team in August that he had given a necklace to Kim in return for a public office position for son-in-law, Park Seong-geun.

The team also questioned Kim about suspicions she received a gold turtle from Lee Bae-yong, former chairman of the National Education Commission, in early 2022, and if she was given a Vacheron watch worth 50 million won the same year from Seo Sung-bin, the head of a company that supplied robot dogs to the Presidential Security Service.

Based on Kim’s statements, the special counsel is expected to make a decision on charges and whether to name the business figures named in the investigation as  suspects.