In a landmark ruling that caps months of high-profile political fallout following the ouster of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Seoul Central District Court has sentenced ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee to seven years in prison after convicting her on multiple charges of bribery and influence peddling. Friday’s verdict adds a second major prison term to Kim’s ongoing legal troubles, coming several months after an appellate court handed her a four-year sentence in a separate case involving gifts from the Unification Church and illicit gains from a stock manipulation scheme. In delivering the judgment, presiding Judge Jo Soon-pyo emphasized the unique ethical obligations that come with being a first spouse, noting that a president’s partner is expected to maintain extraordinary levels of self-discipline and public accountability. “Nevertheless, defendant Kim Keon Hee neglected that social responsibility and repeatedly accepted valuables by exploiting her influence as a means of brokering favors,” Judge Jo stated. Alongside the prison sentence, the court ordered the full confiscation of all luxury gifts Kim was found to have received, including a high-value Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace, a Tiffany & Co. brooch, a Dior handbag, a storage case for a gold turtle figurine, and a celebrated painting by renowned Korean artist Lee Ufan. Clad in a gray business suit and white face mask, Kim bowed her head silently throughout the reading of the verdict. She has long acknowledged accepting the items in question, but has consistently denied any connection between the gifts and promises of political favor. Kim has remained in ongoing litigation across several separate cases since her arrest in August 2025, and her legal team has not yet issued a public statement on whether they will challenge Friday’s ruling. This conviction is the latest development in a sweeping political shakeup that reshaped South Korea’s leadership earlier this year. Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative incumbent, was removed from office in April 2025, just months after he was impeached following his controversial and short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024. The move came amid a bitter political standoff with the liberal opposition, which held a legislative majority and had blocked most of Yoon’s policy agenda during his term. Yoon was arrested in July 2025 and is currently facing trial across multiple criminal cases. He has already appealed a life sentence for rebellion charges connected to the martial law declaration, as well as a separate 30-year prison term for allegations that he ordered unauthorized drone flights over North Korea’s capital Pyongyang to stoke cross-border tensions and justify his domestic power grab. After winning a snap presidential election to replace Yoon, liberal President Lee Jae Myung authorized a series of wide-ranging investigations into the martial law declaration and a host of other allegations against Yoon, his administration, and his spouse. The bribery charges that led to Friday’s conviction were brought by a special prosecutor in December. The most high-profile count centers on a 2022 bribe: Kim was found guilty of accepting the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and other luxury goods totaling 138 million won (equivalent to roughly $90,000) from Lee Bong-kwan, chairman of Seohee Construction, in exchange for using her influence to secure a government position for Lee’s son-in-law. Lee Bong-kwan also received a one-year prison sentence in Friday’s ruling, which has been suspended for two years. Beyond the construction chairman’s gifts, the court convicted Kim on four additional bribery counts: accepting a luxury watch from Seo Seong-bin, a business owner seeking government backing for his robotic dog enterprise; a Dior handbag and other gifts from Pastor Choi Jae-yong, who wanted a spot on a government-funded civilian diplomatic delegation; a gold turtle figurine and traditional Korean painting from Lee Bae-yong, a former head of the National Education Commission who lobbied for Kim’s informal policy influence; and the 140 million won ($90,900) Lee Ufan painting from Kim Sang-min, a former senior prosecutor who sought the ruling conservative party’s nomination for the 2024 legislative elections. All other co-defendants received lenient penalties: Seo Seong-bin and Lee Bae-yong were given suspended prison sentences, while Choi Jae-yong was ordered to pay an 8 million won ($5,200) fine.
South Korean court sentences ex-first lady Kim to 7 years for taking luxury gifts tied to favors
