Kim Keon Hee’s husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, is probably going through the dying penalty over his function in declaring martial regulation in 2024 whereas president.
Printed On 28 Jan 2026
A South Korean court docket has sentenced former First Woman Kim Keon Hee to 1 yr and eight months in jail after discovering her responsible of accepting bribes from the Unification Church, in line with South Korea’s official Yonhap information company.
The Seoul Central District Court docket on Wednesday cleared Kim, the spouse of disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, of extra fees of inventory value manipulation and violating the political funds act.
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Kim was accused of receiving bribes and lavish presents from companies and politicians, in addition to the Unification Church, totalling at the least $200,000.
The prosecution crew had additionally indicted Unification Church chief Han Hak-ja, now on trial, after the non secular group was suspected of giving Kim valuables, together with two Chanel purses and a diamond necklace, as half of its efforts to win affect with the president’s spouse.
Prosecutors in December mentioned Kim had “stood above the regulation” and colluded with the non secular sect to undermine “the constitutionally mandated separation of faith and state”.
Prosecutor Min Joong-ki additionally mentioned South Korea’s establishments have been “severely undermined by abuses of energy” dedicated by Kim.
The previous first girl had denied all the fees, claiming the allegations towards her have been “deeply unjust” in her ultimate testimony final month.
However she has additionally apologised for “inflicting hassle regardless of being an individual of no significance”.
“Once I think about my function and the tasks entrusted to me, it appears clear that I’ve made many errors,” she mentioned in December.
Kim’s husband, the nation’s former President Yoon, was ousted from workplace final yr and has been sentenced to 5 years in jail for actions associated to his brief and disastrous declaration of martial regulation in December 2024.
Yoon may nonetheless be going through the dying penalty in a separate case.
In 2023, hidden digital camera footage appeared to indicate Kim accepting a $2,200 luxurious purse in what was later dubbed the “Dior bag scandal”, additional dragging down then-President Yoon’s already dismal approval scores.
The scandal contributed to a stinging defeat for Yoon’s get together typically elections in April 2024, because it didn’t win again a parliamentary majority.
Yoon vetoed three opposition-backed payments to research allegations towards Kim, together with the Dior bag case, with the final veto in November 2024.
Per week later, he declared martial regulation.
Kim’s sentencing comes days after former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in jail – eight years longer than prosecutors demanded – for aiding and abetting Yoon’s suspension of civilian rule.
