The former first lady of South Korea, Kim Keon Hee, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for accepting bribes from the controversial Unification Church.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Wednesday that Kim, 52, had “misused her position as a means of pursuing personal gain” by accepting gifts in exchange for business and political favours.
Judge Woo In sung said: “The higher [one’s] position, the more consciously one must guard against such conduct… The defendant failed to reject solicitations and was preoccupied with self adornment.”
Kim was cleared of charges relating to stock price manipulation and receiving free opinion polls from a political broker ahead of the 2022 presidential election, which her husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, won.
Yoon, South Korea’s ousted former president, has already been sentenced to 5 years in jail for abusing power and obstructing justice over his failed martial law bid in 2024.
The verdict marks the first time in South Korea’s history that a former presidential couple have been convicted at the same time.
A special counsel team said Kim received gifts worth about 80 million won from the Unification Church between April and July 2022. The items included a Graff diamond necklace and several Chanel handbags.
Prosecutors had sought a 15 year prison sentence and a fine of 2 billion won across three charges, but the court noted that Kim did not demand or solicit the bribes and had “no significant criminal record”.
The judge ordered Kim to repay 12.85 million won in cash and authorised the confiscation of the diamond necklace.
Kim still faces separate charges over allegations that she helped recruit Unification Church followers into the conservative People Power Party and accepted gifts in exchange for government job appointments. Those cases have yet to be heard.
She has denied all charges, calling them “deeply unjust”, though she admitted receiving Chanel handbags which she said were later returned unused.
During questioning last August, Kim issued a public apology, saying: “I am truly sorry that a nobody like me has caused concern to the people.”
Investigations into the case also led to the arrest of Unification Church leader Han Hak ja.
Beyond the criminal cases, Kim has faced other controversies. Last year, Sookmyung Women’s University annulled her 1999 art education degree after an ethics panel found she had plagiarised her master’s thesis.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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