Court set to deliver ruling on ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee’s corruption case

Former first woman Kim Keon Hee attends her corruption trial on the Seoul Central District Court docket in southern Seoul, Dec. 3, 2025. Yonhap

A court docket is about to ship its verdict Wednesday on the corruption and bribery case of former first woman Kim Keon Hee, the spouse of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the primary ruling of three prison trials she faces.

The Seoul Central District Court docket is scheduled to carry the sentencing listening to at 2:10 p.m., which shall be televised dwell.

If discovered responsible, Kim and her husband would grow to be the primary former presidential couple to each be convicted. Yoon has been sentenced to 5 years in jail on fees stemming from his martial legislation bid in 2024 and faces extra fees, together with main an rebellion.

Particular counsel Min Joong-ki’s crew has demanded a 15-year jail time period in opposition to Kim within the trial on fees that embrace involvement in a inventory manipulation scheme and accepting luxurious presents from the Unification Church.

Particularly, Kim has been charged with conspiring with a former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW supplier in Korea, in addition to a detailed affiliate, to control the corporate’s inventory worth and make 810 million received ($565,170) in unlawful income between 2010 and 2012.

She was additionally indicted for receiving free opinion polls price 270 million received, collectively together with her husband, from a self-proclaimed energy dealer forward of the 2022 presidential election.

The previous first woman was moreover charged with conspiring with a shaman to obtain luxurious presents price 80 million received from a Unification Church official in 2022, together with requests for enterprise favors.

Kim, who has been held in custody over the fees since August, has denied all of them.

In the meantime, the court docket is scheduled to condemn different people the identical day within the bribery case involving the Unification Church, together with a former church official accused of handing over the luxurious presents to Kim.

It is going to additionally hand down its verdict on Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the principle opposition Folks Energy Social gathering (PPP), who has been accused of receiving 100 million received in unlawful political funds from the church.

The previous first woman faces two extra trials, together with one on allegations of involvement in mass recruiting Unification Church followers to the PPP and the opposite on the alleged acceptance of luxurious presents in change for presidency job appointments.