South Korea Court Sentences Kim Keon Hee To Seven Years For Bribery

South Korea’s former First Lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Seoul Central District Court after the court found she accepted bribes during and after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s time in office.

The ruling came after the court found Kim guilty of accepting jewellery, an expensive designer handbag and other luxury items in exchange for political favours, and it ordered the confiscation of the items she received.

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The court said she received the bribes “without hesitation,” and it found she received jewellery worth over 100 million won in exchange for giving a construction company owner’s son-in-law a government job.

NPR reported that the court convicted Kim of accepting luxury gifts from businesspeople and others seeking political and business favors, and it quoted Judge Jo Soon-pyo saying, “Given the nature of the position, a president's spouse must exercise the highest degree of self-restraint and vigilance.”

The Seoul Central District Court also ordered confiscation of gifts including a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace, a Tiffany brooch, a Dior handbag, a storage case for a gold turtle figurine and a painting by Korean artist Lee Ufan, according to NPR.

NPR said Kim admitted receiving the gifts but denied they were tied to favors, and it reported that her legal team criticized the verdict as being based on a “loose interpretation” of insufficient evidence and said it would appeal.

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Al Jazeera reported that Kim was already in jail after being sentenced in April to four years for stock manipulation and taking bribes from South Korea’s Unification Church, and it said her husband Yoon Suk Yeol is also in prison serving a life sentence for sending military drones into North Korea.

In a separate case, the court found Kim received jewellery worth over 100 million won from the owner of a construction company in exchange for a government job for his son-in-law, and it said a pastor also gave her a Dior bag and other gifts for favours relating to public officials’ duties.

The sentencing deepened a wider legal and political crisis around Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted from office in 2025 after being impeached, and Al Jazeera said he vetoed three opposition-backed bills to investigate allegations against Kim after a video emerged appearing to show her accepting a luxury handbag in 2023.

NPR reported that Liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who won an early presidential election last year to replace Yoon, has authorized multiple investigations into Yoon’s martial law imposition and other allegations involving his government and wife.

NPR said a special prosecutor indicted Kim in December over bribery charges including that in 2022 she received the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and other jewelry items worth a combined 138 million won from Seohee Construction Chairman Lee Bong-kwan in exchange for securing a government post for Lee’s son-in-law.

The Korea Times added that the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim’s construction company chairman to a one-year prison term suspended for two years, and it said the court found Kim guilty on all counts after she was charged with taking approximately 300 million won worth of gifts.