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Kim Keon Hee, spouse of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, walks into Seoul Central District Courtroom in Seoul, Aug. 12, 2025. Joint Press Corps
Former first woman Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to 1 yr and eight months in jail on Wednesday after being convicted of receiving luxurious items from a determine linked to the Unification Church in change for political favors.
The decision, which was broadcast reside, comes after ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 5 years in jail in a separate case on Jan. 16. It marked the primary time in Korea’s historical past that each a former president and partner have been convicted.
Judges on the Seoul Central District Courtroom ordered Kim to pay a positive of greater than 12 million received ($9,000). In addition they ordered the confiscation of a Graff diamond necklace that had been seized by the investigation group underneath particular counsel Min Joong-ki.
Kim had been indicted on three units of prices: collaborating in a Deutsch Motors inventory worth manipulation scheme between 2009 and 2012; violating the Political Funds Act by receiving opinion polls freed from cost from political dealer Myung Tae-gyun between June 2021 and March 2022; and accepting high-priced items from Unification Church figures in return for political favors. Of those, the courtroom acknowledged solely among the influence-peddling prices, associated to the posh gadgets she acquired in July 2022.
Prosecutors alleged that Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman extensively generally known as “Geonjin Beopsa,” gave Kim a Chanel bag price 8 million received on behalf of Yun Younger-ho, then-world headquarters chief of the Unification Church Yun, in April 2022. In July of the identical yr, Kim acquired one other Chanel bag price 12 million received and a Graff diamond necklace valued at 62 million received. The courtroom, nevertheless, dominated that solely the bag and necklace offered in July 2022 constituted prison proceeds, whereas the sooner April reward didn’t meet the authorized threshold.
Throughout a telephone name on July 15, 2022, Kim reportedly advised Yun that she was working to assist the Unification Church on the authorities degree and requested him to proceed supporting her, stressing that its financial, cultural and different achievements shouldn’t be impeded. The judges stated this confirmed she understood that the church’s initiatives relied on authorities backing and that she was prepared to make use of her place to offer assist in return for the posh gadgets.
However the courtroom discovered her not responsible over the Chanel bag acquired in April 2022, saying that though Kim thanked Yun for his assist through the presidential election, their dialog amounted to customary expressions of gratitude slightly than a concrete request and promise that might represent prison corruption.
“The president is vested with powers of state based mostly on the Structure, and the primary woman, because the president’s partner, can exert immense affect from the closest place and serves as a symbolic determine representing the nation along with the president,” Decide Woo In-sung stated. “Nonetheless, the defendant didn’t refuse and as a substitute accepted costly luxurious gadgets offered in reference to the Unification Church’s requests, and was preoccupied with adorning herself. The defendant misused her place as a way of pursuing private acquire.”
The courtroom acquitted her on the inventory manipulation cost, saying even when she was conscious her funds and shares may very well be used for worth manipulation, her conduct didn’t quantity to being an lively perpetrator as required for a prison conviction.
Judges additionally rejected the cost associated to the Political Funds Act, saying that the availability of Myung’s ballot outcomes to the previous first couple couldn’t fairly be considered as offering a monetary profit. The courtroom added that it was additionally tough to conclude that Myung had been promised a celebration nomination for his shut affiliate Kim Younger-sun, a former lawmaker, in return for conducting the surveys.
Sporting a face masks, Kim Keon Hee listened to the decision with out trying immediately on the bench and remained nearly immobile because the sentence was learn out. After the courtroom introduced the jail time period and forfeiture order, she lowered her head, briefly conferred together with her attorneys after which left the courtroom.
At a separate trial held on the identical day, Yun was sentenced to 1 yr and two months in jail for giving valuables to Kim and Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the Folks Energy Celebration to be able to search authorities assist with Unification Church-related issues.
Rep. Kweon was sentenced to 2 years in jail for receiving unlawful political funds from Yun.
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