The Seoul Central District Court on Friday sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to seven years in prison after convicting her on all charges in a bribery case that prosecutors said involved approximately 300 million won worth of gifts exchanged for government appointments and business favors.
The court’s Criminal Division 21, presided over by Judge Cho Sun-pyo, found that Kim accepted the luxury items — including a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, a Dior bag, a Vacheron Constantin watch, a gold turtle ornament, and a painting by renowned artist Lee Ufan — between March 2022 and February 2023, during her husband’s presidency. Prosecutors had alleged that over 100 million won ($64,750) of the jewelry alone was given in exchange for securing a government job for the son-in-law of a construction company chairman.
“The defendant disregarded the social responsibilities associated with the position of first lady and used it merely as a means to pursue her private interests,” Cho said during the hearing, which was televised live.
The judge noted that Kim had tried to evade responsibility by returning some gifts once an investigation began or by claiming she had purchased them herself. “This shows that she was fully aware of the illegality of her actions but tried to conceal it,” Cho said.
The court also handed down sentences to others involved in the scheme. A construction company chairman received a one-year prison term, suspended for two years. A businessperson who gave the watch was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years. A pastor was fined 8 million won.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team, which had sought a seven-and-a-half-year term, welcomed the ruling. Kim’s lawyers said they would appeal.
Kim, 53, is the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted in April 2025 and separately sentenced to 30 years in prison this month for ordering drone flights over Pyongyang in 2024, as well as a life sentence for a rebellion conviction tied to his December 2024 martial law decree.
Friday’s sentence adds to Kim’s legal troubles. She has already been sentenced by an appeals court to four years in prison in a separate corruption case. She is also set to stand trial over allegations that members of the Unification Church were forced to join the now main opposition People Power Party ahead of the 2022 presidential election in an attempt to influence the outcome of the party primary, which her husband won.