A Seoul court has sentenced Kim Keon Hee, the former first lady of South Korea, to seven years in prison for accepting luxury gifts in exchange for job appointments and political favours. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the ruling on Friday, June 26, finding Kim guilty on all counts related to receiving approximately 300 million won (around $195,000) worth of valuables during the period her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was in office from May 2022 until his removal in April 2025.
The gifts included a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, a Tiffany brooch, and Graff earrings from a construction company chairman, in return for securing a government position for his son-in-law. Kim also accepted a golden turtle ornament from a former head of the National Education Commission in exchange for her appointment, a Dior bag from a pastor, a Vacheron Constantin wristwatch worth 39 million won from a businessman, and a painting by celebrated Korean artist Lee Ufan from a former prosecutor in return for help obtaining an election nomination. Presiding judge Cho Sun-pyo said during the televised hearing that Kim had "disregarded the social responsibilities associated with the position of first lady" and used the role "merely as a means to pursue her private interests." He added that her attempts to return some gifts after investigations began showed she "was fully aware of the illegality of her actions but tried to conceal it."
Kim, 53, had maintained her innocence throughout the trial, arguing that although she received gifts, no requests for favours were attached to them. Her lawyers announced they would appeal. The special counsel team, which had sought a seven-and-a-half-year term, welcomed the sentence. Several others were also convicted: the construction chairman received a one-year suspended sentence, the businessman who gave the watch a ten-month suspended term, and the pastor a fine.
This verdict adds to Kim's mounting legal troubles. She is already serving a four-year prison sentence handed down by an appeals court in a separate case involving stock manipulation and bribery. She also faces a further trial over alleged involvement in efforts to have members of the Unification Church join the now-main-opposition People Power Party ahead of the 2022 presidential primary — the contest her husband ultimately won.
The ruling is the latest chapter in a sweeping legal reckoning for South Korea's former first family. Yoon Suk Yeol himself was sentenced to life imprisonment for a failed attempt to impose martial law in late 2024, in which he briefly ordered troops to surround parliament before backing down amid mass protests in Seoul. He subsequently received an additional 30-year sentence related to drone provocations over North Korea. Kim had been a polarising public figure throughout her husband's presidency, known both for her animal welfare advocacy — including campaigns against the dog-meat trade — and for a series of scandals that repeatedly overshadowed his administration.