Wife of ex-South Korean president gets prison sentence for corruption

The wife of former South Korean President Kim Keon Hee has been sentenced to life in prison in a corruption case after being found guilty of accepting expensive gifts from a religious organization.

This is reported by Yonhap.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced her to one year and eight months in prison. The court concluded that she had accepted expensive gifts from the Unification Church.

At the same time, the court acquitted her in other cases. These include suspicions of participation in a stock manipulation scheme and violations of the law on political finance.

Special prosecutor Min Joon-kiʼs team demanded 15 years in prison for Kim Keon Hee.

Law enforcement officers detained the wife of former President Yoon Seok Yeol in August 2025. Among the charges is receiving a Dior bag worth $2 200. The presidential administration confirmed the fact of the gift, but stated that the bag belongs to the state and is kept as its property.

The investigation also suspected Kim of colluding with the former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea. According to the investigation, they together influenced the companyʼs share price and received illegal profits.

• Yoon Seok Yeol is also currently under arrest. He was detained and sentenced to 23 years in prison after he declared martial law in the country on December 3, 2024. Yoon said he was acting to protect the country from the “threat of North Korean communist forces”.
• The authorities lifted martial law within hours, but Yoon was charged with inciting rebellion, abuse of power, and aiding the enemy.

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