South Korea’s former first lady jailed for 20 months for accepting bribes

A South Korean court has sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to 20 months in prison after finding her guilty of accepting bribes in return for political favours.

The case marks a historic moment in the country as both members of a former presidential couple are now in jail.

The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday found Kim, 52, guilty of accepting bribes linked to the controversial Unification Church, and ordered her to serve a jail term, return a diamond necklace, and repay 12.85 million won (£6,500) in cash.

She was, however, acquitted of separate allegations involving stock price manipulation and receiving illicit opinion polls ahead of the 2022 presidential election. Prosecutors will appeal against the two not-guilty verdicts, media reports said.

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The high-profile former first lady was taken into custody in August over multiple allegations, including bribery, market manipulation and political meddling, which she has denied.

Presiding judge Woo In Sung said Kim had abused the influence that came with her status, ruling that she had “misused her position as a means of pursuing personal gain”.

“The higher [one’s] position, the more consciously one must guard against such conduct... The defendant failed to reject solicitations and was preoccupied with self-adornment,” the judge said.

Prosecutors had accused her of receiving luxury gifts worth about 80 million won, including a diamond necklace and Chanel handbags, between April and July 2022 in exchange for business and political favours. While the special counsel had sought a 15-year sentence and a heavy fine, the court imposed a lighter punishment, noting that Kim had not actively solicited the bribes and had “no significant criminal record”.

Kim, the wife of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, has consistently denied wrongdoing, describing the accusations as “deeply unjust”.

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She has acknowledged receiving Chanel handbags but said they were returned unused. During questioning last year, she issued a public apology, saying: “I am truly sorry that a nobody like me has caused concern to the people.”

She rejected all charges in her final testimony last month, describing the accusations as “deeply unjust”.

In South Korea, government officials and their spouses cannot accept gifts that are worth more than $750. The law mandates this even if there is no seeming conflict of interest.

The ruling comes weeks after Yoon himself was sentenced to five years in prison for abusing power and obstructing justice over his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024.

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Meanwhile, legal troubles for Kim are far from over. She still faces additional cases related to allegations of political interference, improper job appointments and efforts to recruit Unification Church followers into the conservative People Power Party, which Yoon was a member of. Those cases have yet to be heard.

Beyond the courtroom, Kim – who was born Kim Myeong Sin – has long been a polarising figure. Once an art entrepreneur, she became embroiled in repeated controversies over her academic credentials, business dealings and acceptance of luxury gifts.

In 2025, Sookmyung Women’s University annulled her master’s degree after an ethics panel found her thesis had been plagiarised.

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Investigations into her ties with the Unification Church have also widened, leading to the arrest of church leader Han Hak Ja.

Last month, prosecutors said Kim had “stood above the law” and colluded with the religious sect to undermine “the constitutionally mandated separation of religion and state”.

Prosecutor Min Joong Ki said Kim’s actions had left South Korea’s institutions “severely undermined by abuses of power”.

Kim was not a stranger to controversy even before she became the high-profile first lady of the country. Even before Yoon became president, Kim issued a public apology in 2021 during his campaign for inflating her resume.

“There were instances where I inflated my qualifications and falsely listed things in order to make myself look better. All of this was my own fault and carelessness,” she said, according to Hankyoreh Shimbun.

“I’m constantly fearful that I will become a stain on my husband’s wishes for the South Korean public,” she said at the time. “There were mistakes on my part in the process of combining work with my studies.”