The wife of the former president of South Korea has been sentenced to 20 months for bribery
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A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison after finding her guilty of accepting Chanel bags and a diamond from Unification Church officials for political gain.
The court acquitted Kim, the wife of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted from office last year, on charges of manipulating stock prices and violating the political finance law.
Prosecutors will appeal the two not guilty verdicts, media reports said.
The decision, which Kim has yet to contest, comes amid a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the former power couple.
The position of the wife of the president does not come with any legal power that allows involvement in the affairs of the state, but she is a symbolic person who represents the country, said the leading judge on the bench of three lawyers.
“A person in this position may not always be a good example, but that person must not be a bad example in society,” he said in his decision.
The court ordered him to pay a fine 12.8 million won (about $12,155 Cdn) and ordered a diamond necklace to be taken. Kim has been detained since August while being investigated by a team led by a special prosecutor.
Prosecutors wanted 15 years in prison. The court acquitted Kim of charges of price manipulation and violating political funding laws.
Kim had denied all charges. His lawyer said the team will review the decision and decide whether to appeal the bribery case.
Kim, dressed in a black suit and wearing a face mask, was escorted by security guards into the Seoul Central District Court and remained silent as the verdict was handed down.
Supporters of Yoon and Kim, who faced the cold outside the courtroom, cheered after the acquittals in two of the cases.
The members of the Unification Church said that the gifts were brought to him without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also in court, has denied that he ordered it to bribe Kim.
Yoon faces more trials
Yoon, who was ousted last April, is facing eight charges including treason, after his bid to impose martial law in December 2024 failed.
He appealed to be sentenced to five years in prison this month for obstructing efforts to arrest him after his martial law ruling.
In a separate case this month, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Yoon for plotting a coup. The court will rule on the case on February 19.
Yoon said that it was in his power as president to declare martial law and that this action was intended to signal the obstruction of the government by opposition groups.
