South Korea’s former first lady was imprisoned for 20 months for bribing the Unification Church

Kim Keon Hee was found guilty of abusing her position and given a 20-month prison sentence for taking gifts from the Unification Church.

Kim Keon Hee, the former first lady of South Korea, received a 20-month prison sentence for taking bribes from the contentious Unification Church.

Kim, 52, was found guilty on Wednesday by the Seoul Central District Court of “misusing her position as a means of pursuing personal gain” by taking presents in return for political and economic favors.

“The higher [one’s] position, the more consciously one must guard against such conduct,” stated Judge Woo In Sung. The defendant was distracted with self-adornment and neglected to decline offers.

Before her husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, won the 2022 presidential election, Kim was exonerated of all accusations pertaining to manipulating stock prices and obtaining free opinion polls from a political broker.

Due to his unsuccessful attempt to impose martial law in 2024, Yoon, the ousted former president of South Korea, was already given a five-year prison sentence for abusing authority and obstructing justice.

The decision is the first time a former presidential pair has been found guilty simultaneously in South Korean history.

According to a special counsel team, between April and July 2022, Kim received presents from the Unification Church totaling almost 80 million won. Among the valuables were multiple Chanel handbags and a Graff diamond necklace.

The court noted that Kim had “no significant criminal record” and did not demand or solicit the bribes, despite the prosecution’s request for a 15-year prison sentence and a punishment of 2 billion won across three offenses.

The judge approved the diamond necklace’s seizure and mandated that Kim pay back 12.85 million won in cash.

Kim continues to be charged separately for allegedly accepting gifts in exchange for government job assignments and assisting in the recruitment of Unification Church members into the conservative People Power Party. Those cases are still pending hearing.

Although she acknowledged receiving Chanel handbags, which she claimed were later returned unused, she has rejected all of the accusations, calling them “deeply unjust.”

Kim publicly apologized during interrogation in August, saying, “I am truly sorry that a nobody like me has caused concern to the people.”

Han Hak ja, the leader of the Unification Church, was also arrested as a result of the case’s investigations.

Kim has been involved in numerous disputes in addition to the criminal proceedings. Her 1999 art education degree was revoked by Sookmyung Women’s University last year after an ethics commission discovered that she had plagiarized her master’s thesis.