South Korean court jails former first lady Kim Keon Hee for bribery
The Seoul Central District Court on June 26 sentenced Kim Keon Hee , the former first lady of South Korea, to seven years in prison for accepting bribes that included jewelry worth more than 100 million won and a Dior handbag in return for political favors. The court also imposed a fine of 64.8 million won (about $42,000) and ordered the items confiscated. The presiding judge said she had “exercised her power as first lady to offer jobs and business favours.”
It is Kim’s second conviction this year, after a four-year sentence in April for stock manipulation and bribery tied to the Unification Church. Her husband, former president Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached and removed from office in 2025 and is serving a life sentence over his 2024 martial-law declaration and related charges. Kim denies the latest charges and plans to appeal.