An appeals court in Seoul raised the prison term for South Korea’s ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee from 20 months to four years due to corruption charges. The court found her partially guilty of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church. However, she was acquitted of receiving free opinion poll results from a self-proclaimed power broker.
Kim’s lawyers plan to appeal the decision, while special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team intends to review the ruling. The special counsel team had initially sought a 15-year prison sentence for Kim, accusing her of various violations including manipulating stock prices and accepting bribes.
The appeals court ruled that Kim was partially involved in the stock manipulation scheme by providing a brokerage account holding 2 billion won to an investment advisory firm. It also mentioned that she accepted luxury gifts but acquitted her of all charges related to opinion polls. Along with the prison term, Kim was fined 50 million won, and the court ordered the confiscation of a diamond necklace and a forfeit of around 20 million won.
“The general public expects integrity and morality from a president’s spouse, and the defendant’s actions of accepting bribes for mediation have betrayed these expectations,” the court stated.
