South Korea’s Ex-First Lady Sentenced To Prison For Taking Bribe From Church

Kim Keon Hee, the wife of South Korea’s removed former president, has been sentenced to prison for taking bribes from the controversial Unification Church.

A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced the 52-year-old ex-first lady to 20 months in jail after finding her guilty of accepting expensive gifts from the church.

However, the court cleared her of other accusations, including manipulating stock prices and receiving free opinion polls from a political middleman ahead of the 2022 presidential election, which her husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, won.

Yoon himself is already serving a five-year prison sentence for abusing power and blocking justice over his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024.

With Kim’s conviction, this is the first time a former South Korean president and first lady have both been found guilty of crimes at the same time.

In his ruling at the Seoul Central District Court, Judge Woo In-sung said Kim abused her position for personal benefit, adding that people in high office have a greater duty to avoid such behaviour.

“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,” the judge said.

Prosecutors said Kim received gifts worth about 80 million won, including a diamond necklace from Graff and several Chanel handbags, from the Unification Church between April and July 2022.

In return, she was accused of helping the group gain political and business influence.

Although prosecutors asked for a 15-year jail sentence and a heavy fine on all charges, the judge reduced the punishment, noting that Kim did not directly ask for the bribes and had no serious criminal record.

She was ordered to return 12.85 million won in cash, and the court also seized the diamond necklace.

Kim is still facing other cases, including allegations that she helped recruit Unification Church members into the ruling People Power Party and accepted gifts in exchange for government job placements. Those matters are yet to be decided in court.

The former first lady has consistently denied wrongdoing, describing the charges as unfair.

She admitted receiving some Chanel handbags but said she returned them unused.

Last August, she publicly apologised while being questioned, saying she was sorry for causing public concern.

“I am truly sorry that a nobody like me has caused concern to the people,” she said.

The investigation into Kim’s ties with the Unification Church also led to the arrest of the church’s leader, Han Hak-ja.

Beyond the criminal cases, Kim has faced other scandals. Last year, Sookmyung Women’s University cancelled the art education degree she earned in 1999 after an ethics panel ruled that her master’s thesis involved plagiarism.

KanyiDaily had reported how South Korea’s President, Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by lawmakers over his controversial attempt to impose martial law earlier this month.