An appeals court on Tuesday increased the corruption sentence for former first lady Kim Keon Hee to four years in jail, more than doubling her punishment after she unsuccessfully appealed a prior conviction.
Kim is the wife of jailed former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces various convictions and charges linked to his attempt to impose martial law in December 2024, an action that preceded his impeachment, suspension and eventual removal from office. While still president, Yoon repeatedly used his veto power to block probes into his wife’s alleged misconduct.
The appellate court found Kim had taken part in manipulating the price of a thinly traded Korean stock, Deutsch Motors, in coordination with multiple traders, reversing a lower court’s February acquittal on that charge. It also ruled she accepted two Chanel bags and a Graff necklace worth about 80 million won (roughly €46,000 / $55,000) from the Unification Church, and that she knew the group expected political favors in return for support of its overseas business.
Both Kim and prosecutors had appealed the previous ruling—Kim contesting the guilty findings and prosecutors arguing she should not have been acquitted on some counts. The appeals court sentenced her to four years in prison, imposed a 50 million won fine, and ordered confiscation of the necklace, noting her previously clean record as a factor in sentencing. “Kim exerted her influence as first lady and committed the bribery,” the lead judge said, adding that her actions damaged public trust in government transparency and deepened divisions over national affairs.
The court also found Kim guilty of illegally backing a candidate in a 2022 by-election, though it cleared her of separate election-law breaches. Her lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court.
A small group of supporters gathered outside the Seoul court, displaying a large photo of Yoon and Kim and waving scarves and banners with slogans such as “Yoon, again,” “Make Korea Great Again” and “Reset Korea.”
Kim has featured in several scandals during Yoon’s presidency, including efforts to ban Korea’s dog meat trade and the emergence of hidden-camera footage in 2023 showing her accepting a luxury Dior handbag. The controversy hurt Yoon’s party in the April 2024 general election, preventing it from securing a majority. The opposition majority then advanced three bills seeking investigations into allegations surrounding Kim; Yoon vetoed each, including a last veto in November 2024 just a week before declaring martial law—a move that precipitated his impeachment and suspension in December and his removal from office by early April, when multiple criminal investigations intensified.
Yoon was given a life sentence in February in one of several cases against him; he plans to appeal and maintains he acted in the country’s best interests, accusing political rivals of collusion with North Korea.
Edited by: Alex Berry