The prosecution had asked for 15 years in prison for Kim for corruption and fraud
A South Korean court sentenced the country’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee to 20 months in prison for corruption, following her husband’s arrest for acts related to the declaration of martial law in 2024.
“The defendant is sentenced to one year and eight months in prison” for this first crime, declared Judge Woo In-sung, of the Seoul Central District Court.
Kim Keon-hee was, however, acquitted of charges of stock market manipulation and violating election campaign finance laws.
The prosecution had asked for 15 years in prison for Kim for corruption and fraud.
The scandals surrounding Kim, 53, have strongly marked the presidency of her husband, conservative Yoon Suk-yeol, ousted after a brief declaration of martial law at the end of 2024, who is awaiting the conclusion of several trials in prison, one of which could end with a death sentence.
Kim Keon-hee, also detained, was accused of manipulating the stock market, electoral interference, accepting luxurious gifts from the Unification Church, better known as the Moon sect, and around 170,000 euros in bribes from businessmen and politicians.
During arguments in December, the prosecution claimed that Kim “placed himself above the law”, that he committed “abuses of power” and that he had collaborated with the sect, violating “the constitutional principle of the separation of religion and state”.
The former first lady claimed innocence and considered the accusations “profoundly unfair”, although she also apologized for “having caused problems, despite being an unimportant person”.
“When I reflect on my role and the responsibilities entrusted to me, it seems obvious to me that I made many mistakes”, he acknowledged at the end of the trial.
Yoon Suk-yeol vetoed three attempts by the South Korean Parliament to open an investigation against his wife, the last of which was in November 2024, a week before declaring martial law.
The epilogue of Kim Keon-hee’s trial comes a week after Yoon’s former prime minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison, eight more than the prosecution requested, for complicity in the martial law case.
Investigations related to Kim also resulted in the arrest of Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church, which claims to have millions of followers around the world and an immense economic empire.
