A South Korean court has found former First Lady Kim Keon Hee guilty of accepting luxury items in exchange for political favors and sentenced her to seven years in prison.
The judge said on June 26 that Kim had “exercised her power as first lady to offer jobs and business favors.”
“She received without any hesitation those bribes, which ordinary people would hardly encounter during their lives,” the judge added.
The court said she had received bribes before and during the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol, who was this year sentenced to life in prison for insurrection over his failed 2024 attempt to impose martial law.
Seoul Central District Court said in its ruling that Kim, the wife of the ousted president, had received jewelry, including a Tiffany brooch, a pair of Graff earrings, and a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace. She had also received a Dior handbag, a gold turtle, a painting worth 140 million won (approximately $91,300), and a Vacheron Constantin watch worth 39 million won (approximately $25,400).
Those who gave her these bribes included a pastor seeking access to high-ranking officials and the owner of a construction company who wanted a government job for his son-in-law, the court said.
In addition to the prison sentence, Kim was fined 64.8 million won (approximately $42,300), and the court ordered the confiscation of the items if they could be recovered.
The former first lady denied all the charges, and her defense team said it would appeal the sentence.
Kim is currently in prison serving a four-year jail term for convictions, including corruption, after receiving bribes from South Korea’s Unification Church, and stock market manipulation.
Martial Law Decree
Accusations against Kim are unrelated to her husband’s trials, with investigators having said she was not involved in the former president’s martial law decree.
Yoon was sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 19 after being convicted of the major charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating an insurrection.
The conservative politician on Dec. 3, 2024, had attempted to impose martial law but backed down six hours later after the National Assembly—South Korea’s parliament—voted to overturn the decree.
He said at the time that he was seeking to protect the constitution because the opposition, which controlled the National Assembly, was sympathetic to communists and North Korea.
Yoon has also been found guilty in January of mobilizing the presidential security service to prevent authorities from detaining him, fabricating official documents, and failing to follow the legal process required for declaring martial law. He was sentenced to seven years in jail for those crimes.
Then, on June 12, the former president was sentenced to 30 years in prison after the court found him guilty of ordering the flying of drones over Pyongyang, North Korea, in October 2024. The court said he did this in order to provoke the North Korean regime and manufacture a security crisis to use as a pretext for his declaration of martial law.
The former president is facing eight trials in total related to the decree.
Yoon and his legal team deny all charges and are appealing the convictions.
Convictions of Other Cabinet Members
Several other members of Yoon’s government are on trial or have been convicted and sentenced on charges related to the martial law decree.
On June 22, former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae was jailed for 25 years after the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty of charges including helping Yoon attempt to impose martial law.
Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was also sentenced in January to 23 years in prison for insurrection, but that was later reduced to 15 years.
Ex-Interior Minister Lee Sang-min was sentenced to seven years in prison in February after the court said he had relayed orders to the police and fire services to cut water and power to media outlets critical of Yoon’s policies.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun was jailed for 30 years for his role in mobilizing the military to enforce martial law, and also received a separate 30-year sentence for his part in planning the drone flights over Pyongyang.
Reuters contributed to this report.
