South Korea’s former first lady gets 20 month jail term in bribery case

Kim Keon Hee, South Korea’s former first lady, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for accepting bribes, in a ruling that sees a former presidential couple convicted at the same time for the first time in the country’s history.

A court in Seoul found that Kim, 52, misused her position while married to Yoon Suk Yeol, the former president who was himself jailed earlier for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The ruling closes a period in South Korean politics that has been marred by scandal and investigations.

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Judge Woo In Sung of the Seoul Central District Court said Kim had “misused her position as a means of pursuing personal gain”, adding that senior figures had a special duty to resist improper approaches. “The higher one’s position, the more consciously one must guard against such conduct,” he said.

Kim was convicted of receiving bribes from the controversial Unification Church, but was cleared of charges relating to stock price manipulation and receiving free opinion polls ahead of the 2022 presidential election, which her husband went on to win.

According to a special counsel team, Kim accepted gifts worth about W80 million from the Unification Church between April and July 2022, including a diamond necklace and several luxury handbags, in exchange for business and political favours. The court ordered her to repay 12.85 million in cash and confiscated the diamond necklace.

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Prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term and a heavy fine, but the judge imposed a lighter sentence, noting that Kim had not directly demanded the bribes and had no significant criminal record.

In a statement after the verdict, Kim said she accepted the court’s decision. “I humbly accept the court’s stern admonition and will not take its weight lightly,” she said, adding that she apologised to the public for the concern she had caused. Kim had previously denied all charges, though she acknowledged receiving some gifts, which she said were later returned unused.

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Her husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, was sentenced earlier to five years in prison over a failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024, a move that led to his removal from office and shocked the country.

The BBC reports that investigators are still pursuing other cases involving Kim, including allegations that she helped recruit Unification Church members into the ruling People Power Party and accepted gifts in exchange for government job appointments. Those cases have yet to be heard in court.

Beyond the criminal trials, Kim has also faced reputational damage on other fronts. Last year, Sookmyung Women’s University annulled a degree she earned in 1999 after finding that her master’s thesis had been plagiarised.