Court Upholds Bribery Conviction for Kim Keon-hee, Sentences Her to Seven Years
A Seoul court has upheld a seven-year prison sentence for Kim Keon-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, on charges of bribery and accepting luxury gifts. The appellate court emphasized the severity of the offenses, noting that Kim allegedly received expensive gifts without hesitation, items considered difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain even once in a lifetime.
Key Allegations and Verdict
The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Cho Soon-pyo) found Kim guilty on all bribery charges. The court sentenced her to seven years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of assets, including a Christian Dior handbag and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry valued at approximately 64.8 million won.
The indictment detailed five separate instances of alleged bribery. These include receiving gifts worth over 103.8 million won, along with requests for personnel appointments, from Lee Bong-kwan, chairman of Seohee Construction. Additionally, Kim is accused of accepting gifts valued at 2.65 million won and a replica of Kim Jeong-hee’s painting ‘Sehando’ from Lee Bae-yong, former chairman of the Korea Educational Broadcasting System, in exchange for a promise of appointment as chairman. She also allegedly received a Rolex watch worth approximately 39.9 million won from robot business owner Seo Sung-bin, and luxury goods totaling 5.3 million won from Choi Jae-young (Choi Abraham), a pastor at Jae-mi Church, in exchange for personnel appointment requests. Furthermore, Kim is accused of receiving a piece of art by Lee Hwan-baek valued at 140 million won from former prosecutor Kim Sang-min, in exchange for her influence in securing a parliamentary nomination.
Total Value of Gifts and Defense Rejection
The court recognized the total value of gifts received by Kim from various individuals as 209.165 million won, deeming them rewards for her alleged influence-peddling. Kim’s defense team argued that these were merely congratulatory gifts and not bribes for favors. However, the court rejected this claim, stating in its ruling, “The intent to seek favors from those who provided the gifts was clearly revealed through investigations and trial proceedings.”
Judicial Scrutiny and Sentencing Rationale
The court strongly criticized Kim’s actions, stating, “She disregarded her social responsibilities and repeatedly accepted gifts for personal gain using her influence.” The court highlighted that if Kim had been a public official, she would have faced a sentence of life imprisonment or over 10 years in prison under bribery laws for public officials where sums exceeding 100 million won incur such penalties. However, as she was not a public official at the time, she was charged under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes.
Co-defendants Also Convicted
All individuals who provided gifts to Kim have also been convicted. Lee Bong-kwan was sentenced to one year in prison with two years of probation. Lee Bae-yong and Seo Sung-bin received sentences of 10 months in prison with two years of probation each. Pastor Choi Jae-young was fined 8 million won. Former prosecutor Kim Sang-min, who faced separate charges, received a suspended sentence of three years in prison with three years of probation for other offenses, including violations of election law, in a separate trial.
