A South Korean judge handed the country’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee 20 months in jail on Wednesday for accepting lavish gifts from a cult-like church, but acquitted her of alleged stock manipulation and other charges.
Controversy has long followed 53-year-old Kim, while accusations of graft, influence peddling and even academic fraud have dominated her husband Yoon Suk Yeol’s time in office.
Both are now in custody — Yoon for actions taken during his disastrous declaration of martial law in December 2024 and Kim for corruption.
On Wednesday, Judge Woo In-sung of the Seoul Central District Court found Kim guilty of corruption and sentenced her to 20 months in prison.
She was found to have accepted lavish bribes from the cult-like Unification Church — including a Chanel bag and a Graff necklace.
Prosecutors requested 15 years, but Kim was acquitted of stock manipulation and violations of campaign financing laws on Wednesday, and received a far lighter sentence.
Woo said that Kim’s close proximity to the president had given her “significant influence” that she had taken advantage of.“One’s position must never become a means of pursuing private gain,” he added.
The former first lady sat in court as the sentence was read out, wearing a black suit, a white face mask and glasses.
Kim later released a statement apologising for “the concern” she may have caused, saying that she “accepted the court’s stern criticism”.
Her lawyers told AFP Kim had not decided whether she would appeal against the decision.
Prosecutors at Kim’s final hearing in December said she had “stood above the law” and colluded with the Unification Church to undermine “the constitutionally mandated separation of religion and state”.
Min Joong-ki, a Prosecutor on the case, said at the time that South Korea’s institutions were “severely undermined by abuses of power” committed by Kim.
On Wednesday, prosecutors called the ruling “hard to accept” and said they would appeal.
