The wife of South Korea’s ousted former president has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for accepting bribes from the Unification Church.
However, the court acquitted Kim Keon Hee (52) of charges related to stock price manipulation and the acceptance of free public opinion polls from a political intermediary ahead of the 2022 presidential election, which was won by her husband, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Yoon has already been sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power and obstruction of justice in connection with his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024. This marks the first time in South Korean history that a former presidential couple has been convicted simultaneously.
On Wednesday, a judge at the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Kim had “abused her position as a means to pursue personal gain.”
“The higher a person’s position, the more consciously they must guard against such conduct… The defendant did not reject the requests and was preoccupied with self-adornment,” the judge said.
A special counsel team appointed to investigate the case stated that Kim received 80 million won in gifts— including a Graff diamond necklace and several Chanel handbags—from the Unification Church between April and July 2022, in exchange for business and political favors.
Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison sentence and a 2 billion won fine on three charges. Kim was convicted on one count. The judge noted that Kim did not actively solicit or coerce the bribes and that she had no significant prior criminal record.
Nevertheless, she was ordered to pay 12.85 million won (approximately $9,000 / £6,500) in cash, and the court also ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace.
Kim is also accused of involvement in a scheme to recruit members of the Unification Church into the conservative People Power Party, to which her husband belonged, as well as of accepting gifts in exchange for government appointments. These cases have not yet been heard by the court.
