Trending 
The wife of South Korea’s ousted former president, Kim Keon-hee, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for accepting bribes from the controversial Unification Church.
The 52-year-old was cleared of charges relating to stock price manipulation and receiving free opinion polls from a political broker before the 2022 presidential election, which her husband, Yoon Suk-yeol, won. Yoon himself has been sentenced to five years in jail for abusing power and obstructing justice during his failed martial law attempt in 2024. This marks the first time in South Korea’s history that a former presidential couple have been convicted simultaneously.
On Wednesday, Judge Woo In-sung at Seoul Central District Court ruled that Kim had “misused her position as a means of pursuing personal gain”. He added, “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.”
In a statement following 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 had previously denied all charges.
A special counsel team revealed that Kim received 80 million won ($56,000; £40,600) in gifts, including a Graff diamond necklace and several Chanel handbags, from the Unification Church between April and July 2022, in exchange for business and political favours. The prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term and a fine of 2 billion won, but the judge noted that Kim did not demand the bribes and had “no significant criminal record.”
She was ordered to repay 12.85 million won in cash, and the court also ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace. Kim faces additional charges, including recruiting Unification Church followers for the conservative People Power Party and accepting gifts for government job appointments, which are yet to be heard.
Kim has previously denied all allegations, calling them “deeply unjust”, although she admitted to receiving the Chanel bags, which she claimed to have returned unused. She publicly apologised last August, saying, “I am truly sorry that a nobody like me has caused concern to the people.”
Investigations into her dealings also led to the arrest of Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja. Kim has faced further 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.
