South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday (26 June) after a court found her guilty of accepting luxury gifts in return for political favours.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Kim, the wife of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, accepted bribes before and during her husband's time in office. Yoon was removed from office in 2025 following his failed attempt to impose martial law.
The court said Kim used her position as first lady to influence appointments and help people secure government and parliamentary jobs.
"She exercised her power as first lady to offer jobs and business favours," the lead judge said.
"She received without any hesitation those bribes, which ordinary people would hardly encounter during their lives."
The gifts included a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, a Tiffany brooch, Graff earrings, a Dior handbag, a gold turtle, a Vacheron Constantin watch worth 39 million won (US$25,349.86), and a painting valued at 140 million won.
The judge said Kim's actions had seriously damaged public trust in the fairness of government appointments.
According to the court, those who gave her gifts included a construction company owner seeking a government role for his son-in-law, a pastor hoping to build ties with senior officials, the former head of a private university, and the chief executive of a robotic dog retailer who wanted to supply equipment to the presidential security service.
The court also fined Kim 64.8 million won and ordered that the bribes be confiscated if they could be recovered.
Kim denied all the charges. Her lawyer said she would appeal the verdict, accusing the judge of overstating the evidence against her, according to Yonhap News Agency.
She is already serving a four-year prison sentence after being convicted in April on separate charges of stock manipulation and accepting bribes linked to South Korea's Unification Church.
Her husband, Yoon, was sentenced to life imprisonment in February after being found guilty of leading an insurrection linked to his brief declaration of martial law in 2024.
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