The wife of South Korea’s ousted former president has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for accepting bribes from the controversial Unification Church.
However, the court cleared 52-year-old Kim Keon Hee on charges of stock price manipulation and receiving free opinion polls from a political broker before the 2022 presidential election, which her husband Yoon Suk Yeol won.
Yoon has already been sentenced to five years’ in jail for abusing power and obstructing justice in relation to his failed martial law bid in 2024.
This marks the first time in South Korea’s history that a former presidential couple are convicted at the same time.
On Wednesday, Judge Woo In-sung at the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Kim 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.
In a statement after the verdict, Kim said: “I humbly accept the court’s sterm admonition and will not take its weight lightly”.
“Once again, I sincerely apologise to everyone for the concern I have caused,” she added. Kim had previously denied all charges.
