Prison sentence of former First Lady of South Korea reduced by five years

Prison sentence of South Korea's former first lady reduced to five years

A South Korean appeals court has reduced the prison sentence of Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of the country's former president Yoon Suk-yeol. According to the ruling announced on September 22, her sentence was shortened from 7 years to 5 years. She had been accused of receiving illegal gifts from businessmen and other individuals.

It has emerged that the Seoul High Court dismissed some of the corruption charges against Kim Keon-hee. In particular, the charge regarding her receiving a luxury watch from businessman Seo Song-bin was dropped. The businessman in question had sought government support for his robot-dog business.

In June, the Seoul Central District Court had found Kim guilty of receiving the watch. However, on September 22, the high court stated that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove that this watch was given in exchange for business assistance. At the same time, the court upheld most of the other charges against her.

Kim's lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court to have the remaining charges dismissed as well. They argued that prosecutors failed to prove her guilt fully and beyond a reasonable doubt.

Kim Han-soo, a member of the investigation team led by special prosecutor Min Jung-ki, said the prosecution would also appeal the decision.

"It is difficult to accept that the first lady receiving a watch worth tens of millions of won from a businessman with unresolved matters is not a crime," he told reporters.

In April, the high court had sentenced Kim Keon-hee to 4 years in prison in another case. At that time, she was accused of receiving gifts from the Unification Church and profiting from a stock price manipulation scheme. She has appealed that verdict as well.

Among the charges upheld on September 22 is the receipt of a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and other jewelry. These gifts, with a total value of over 100 million won ($73,500), were received in 2022 from Lee Bong-kwan, the chairman of Seohee Construction. In return, his son-in-law was secured a government position.

Kim was also found guilty of receiving gifts from other individuals:

She received a Dior handbag and other gifts from Choi Jae-young, who wanted to join a civic diplomatic delegation and government programs.

She received a golden turtle from Lee Bae-yong, the former head of the National Education Commission.

She received a painting by the famous artist Lee Ufan, valued at 140 million won ($102,900), from former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min. Kim Sang-min wanted to become a candidate for Yoon's conservative party in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in December 2024 following a standoff with the opposition. Subsequently, he was impeached and removed from office in April 2025. He was arrested in July 2025. Currently, the former leader is on trial in several cases and has appealed a life sentence handed down for rebellion.

In the early presidential election held in 2025 to replace Yoon, liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung won. He authorized special prosecutors to conduct several investigations into Yoon's declaration of martial law, as well as other allegations related to his government and his wife.