Seoul Court Sentences Ex-First Lady Kim Keon Hee to Seven Years

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to seven years in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for favors. The Seoul Central District Court found her guilty on all counts of taking approximately 300 million won worth of gifts while her husband Yoon Suk Yeol served as president.

Presiding judge Cho Sun-pyo said during the televised hearing that Kim disregarded the social responsibilities of the first lady position and used it to pursue private interests.

The judge added that she was aware of the illegality of her actions but tried to conceal them by returning some gifts or claiming she had purchased them. Kim was indicted in December on charges that included receiving a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and other jewelry from a construction company chairman between March and May 2022 in exchange for a government job for the chairman's son-in-law.

She also received a golden turtle ornament from Lee Bae-yong, former head of the National Education Commission, a Dior bag worth 5.4 million won from a pastor, a Vacheron Constantin watch from a businessperson, and a painting by artist Lee Ufan from a former prosecutor.

Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, which had sought a seven-and-a-half-year term, welcomed the ruling. Kim's lawyers said they would appeal. The court ordered confiscation of the gifts, including a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace, a Tiffany brooch, a Dior handbag, a storage case for a gold turtle figurine, and the Lee Ufan painting.

The court also sentenced the construction company chairman to a one-year prison term suspended for two years, the businessperson who gave the watch to a 10-month suspended term, and the pastor to an 8 million won fine. Kim already faces a separate four-year sentence from an appeals court in another corruption case and is set to stand trial over alleged involvement in forcing Unification Church members to join the People Power Party ahead of the 2022 presidential election.