South Korea court jails former first lady Kim Keon Hee for bribery over luxury gifts

The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday, 28 January, sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to one year and eight months in prison for accepting luxury items from a Unification Church official seeking business favours.

Kim, the wife of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was found guilty of accepting a Chanel handbag and a high-end Graff necklace in July 2022. The court ruled these gifts were linked to requests for business-related benefits.

The ruling marks the first time a former presidential couple in South Korea has both been convicted and imprisoned for criminal offences.

According to Yonhap news, Special counsel Min Joong-ki had sought a significantly harsher sentence of 15 years. His team argued that Kim’s conduct, in conjunction with other charges, warranted severe punishment. However, the court handed down a much shorter sentence and cleared Kim of other key allegations.

Kim was acquitted of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and of violating the Political Funds Act.

She was also ordered to forfeit 12.8 million won (approximately US$9,000).

The court stated that Kim “misused her position as a means to seek profit” and failed to reject luxury goods given in connection with the Unification Church’s business requests. It found that she had prioritised “her own adornment.”

However, the court ruled that another Chanel handbag received in April 2022 could not be deemed a bribe, as there was no accompanying request from the gift-giver at that time.

Kim had been accused of working with a former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealership in South Korea, and an associate to manipulate stock prices between 2010 and 2012. The scheme allegedly yielded 810 million won in profits.

While the court acknowledged that Kim may have been aware of the scheme, it concluded that the evidence was insufficient to determine her direct involvement as an accomplice.

She was also indicted for receiving opinion polling services worth 270 million won for free, together with her husband, ahead of the 2022 presidential election. Prosecutors claimed this violated the Political Funds Act.

However, the court rejected this charge as well, noting that although the couple benefited from the polls, they were not conducted exclusively for them and thus did not constitute an economic advantage under the law.

In addition, Kim faced allegations of conspiring with a shaman to receive luxury goods worth 80 million won from the Unification Church, but the court limited its finding of guilt to the July 2022 incident.

Kim, who had been in custody since August, denied all charges throughout her trial.

After the ruling, the special counsel team announced its intention to appeal, stating that it found the verdict “difficult to accept.”

Kim’s legal team also expressed reservations about the sentence, stating that the 20-month term was “relatively high” given the charges upheld. They said they would consider appealing the decision.

In a statement released after the verdict, Kim said she would not take the court's judgement lightly. “I humbly accept the court’s stern words today and will not regard them lightly,” she said, according to her lawyers. “Once again I am sorry to everyone for having caused concern.”

Meanwhile, former President Yoon Suk Yeol is currently serving a five-year prison term for charges related to his attempt to impose martial law in 2024. He faces further charges, including leading an insurrection through that decree.

Kim and Yoon are now the only former presidential couple in South Korea to be incarcerated with criminal convictions, marking a significant moment in the nation’s political and legal history.