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.
The former first lady previously denied all charges against her, claiming the allegations were “deeply unjust” in her final testimony last month.
She still faces two additional trials on bribery and Political Parties Act violations over allegations that she arranged the mass enrolment of more than 2,400 Unification Church followers into Yoon’s conservative People Power Party.
A self-professed animal lover known internationally for her work campaigning for South Korea to ban dog meat, Kim’s scandals frequently overshadowed her husband’s domestic political agenda.
In 2023, hidden camera footage appeared to show Kim accepting a $2,200 luxury handbag in what was later dubbed the “Dior bag scandal”, further dragging down Yoon’s already dismal approval ratings.
The scandal contributed to a stinging defeat for Yoon’s party in the general elections in April 2024, as it failed to win back a parliamentary majority.
Yoon vetoed three opposition-backed bills to investigate allegations against Kim, including the Dior bag case, with the last veto in November 2024.
A week later, he declared martial law.
Kim’s sentencing came days after former prime minister Han Duck-soo was handed 23 years in prison for aiding and abetting Yoon’s suspension of civilian rule.
And this month Yoon was sentenced to five years for obstructing justice and other crimes in the first of a number of trials linked to that declaration.
The probe into Kim also led to the arrest of Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church, which claims 10 million followers worldwide and runs a vast business empire.
Also on Wednesday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yun Young-ho, a former Unification Church official, to 14 months in prison for offering luxury gifts to the former first lady and providing illegal political funds to a lawmaker.
Opposition lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, an ally of ex-president Yoon, was also jailed for two years for receiving 100 million won ($70,000) from the controversial sect.
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