Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee has appealed against a court ruling that sentenced her to 20 months in prison for accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church. The Seoul Central District Court recently handed down the sentence, marking Kim and her husband, ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, as the country’s first former presidential couple to face imprisonment with criminal convictions. Kim was found guilty of receiving a Chanel bag, a Graff diamond necklace, and business favors from the Unification Church in 2022, and was ordered to forfeit 12.8 million won (USD 8,770).
Kim was acquitted of two other charges she faced, including involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and violating the Political Funds Act. Her lawyers have stated that they will challenge the guilty verdict, denying the receipt of the 62.2 million won necklace and disputing the court’s characterization of the Chanel bag transaction. The sentence imposed was much shorter than the 15-year term sought by the special counsel’s team, which has also filed an appeal citing “serious” misunderstandings in the ruling.
Kim was accused of conspiring to manipulate the stock price of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea, and making illegal profits between 2010 and 2012. Additionally, she faced charges of violating the Political Funds Act by receiving free opinion polls with her husband from a self-proclaimed power broker before the 2022 presidential election. The court did not find evidence that Kim was involved in the stock price manipulation scheme and acquitted her of the political funds violation due to the power broker’s non-exclusive provision of the polls to the couple.
Yoon, Kim’s husband, is currently on trial for leading an insurrection by briefly imposing martial law in 2024. He has already been sentenced to five years in prison for charges related to the failed martial law attempt.
