Agency Report
The wife of South Korea’s ousted former president has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for accepting bribes linked to the Unification Church, a Seoul court ruled on Wednesday.
Kim Keon Hee, 52, the wife of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, was convicted at the Seoul Central District Court for misusing her position while receiving gifts from the controversial church.
Judge Woo In-sung said Kim had “misused her position as a means of pursuing personal gain”.
“The higher one’s position, the more consciously one must guard against such conduct… The defendant failed to reject solicitations and was preoccupied with self-adornment,” the judge said.
However, the court cleared Kim of charges related to stock price manipulation and receiving free opinion polls from a political broker ahead of the 2022 presidential election, which her husband won.
In a statement after the verdict, Kim said: “I humbly accept the court’s stern admonition and will not take its weight lightly”.
“Once again, I sincerely apologise to everyone for the concern I have caused,” she added. Kim had previously denied all charges.
Yoon Suk Yeol has already been sentenced to five years in jail for abusing power and obstructing justice over his failed martial law bid in 2024.
The rulings mark the first time in South Korea’s history that a former presidential couple have been convicted at the same time.
A special counsel team said Kim received gifts worth 80m won ($56,000; £40,600), including a Graff diamond necklace and several Chanel handbags, from the Unification Church between April and July 2022.
Prosecutors said the gifts were given in exchange for political and business favours. The prosecution sought a 15-year jail term and a fine of 2 billion won for three charges heard on Wednesday. Kim was convicted on one count.
The judge noted that Kim did not demand or solicit the bribes and had “no significant criminal record”. The court ordered Kim to repay 12.85 million won in cash and confiscated the diamond necklace.
Kim is also facing separate charges over allegations that she helped recruit Unification Church followers into the conservative People Power Party and accepted gifts in exchange for government job appointments. Those cases have yet to be heard.
She had previously described the charges as “deeply unjust” but admitted to receiving Chanel handbags, saying she returned them unused. During questioning last August, Kim issued a public apology.
“I am truly sorry that nobody like me has caused concern to the people,” she said.
Investigations into Kim’s links with the Unification Church also led to the arrest of church leader Han Hak-ja.
Beyond the criminal cases, Kim has faced other controversies. Last year, Sookmyung Women’s University annulled her 1999 art education degree after an ethics panel found she had plagiarised her master’s thesis.
(Reuters)
