Special Counsel Appeals Four-Year Sentence for Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee on Corruption Charges
A special counsel team appealed an appeals court ruling that sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to four years in prison for corruption-related offenses. The Seoul High Court found her partially guilty in a stock manipulation scheme and fully guilty of accepting luxury gifts. Kim, jailed since August, has also appealed the decision.
koreaherald.comSEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team challenged an appeals court ruling sentencing former first lady Kim Keon Hee to four years in prison on corruption charges on Monday. The team, led by special counsel Min Joong-ki, disputed the appellate decision in a move to the Supreme Court. This came after the Seoul High Court raised Kim's sentence from 20 months to four years on Tuesday.
The Seoul High Court found Kim Keon Hee partially guilty of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme. It reversed a lower court ruling that had acquitted her on that charge. The appellate court also found her guilty of accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team had sought a 15-year prison term for Kim Keon Hee. They indicted her on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act. The team also indicted her on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation.
The special counsel team appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court to dispute the appellate court's acquittal of Kim Keon Hee on charges of violating the political fund law. The appellate court acquitted her for allegedly receiving free opinion poll results from a self-proclaimed power broker.
However, the court upheld her acquittal regarding the opinion polls, noting the broker provided the results to people other than Kim and her husband.
The lower court had found her guilty of only accepting some of the luxury gifts.
The luxury gifts accepted by Kim Keon Hee included two Chanel bags, a Graff diamond necklace and a ginseng extract tea. The appellate court fined Kim Keon Hee 50 million won (US$33,900). It ordered the confiscation of the Graff diamond necklace from Kim Keon Hee and a forfeiture of around 20 million won.
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee spoke during former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae's trial at the Seoul Central District Court on April 13, 2026. Kim Keon Hee has been jailed since August over the corruption charges. She appealed the ruling.
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