South Korean appeals court cuts Kim Keon Hee's sentence to five years
Seoul High Court reduces Kim Keon Hee's prison term from seven to five years, acquitting her on a luxury watch charge while upholding other corruption convictions.
A South Korean appeals court on Tuesday reduced the prison sentence of Kim Keon Hee, wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, from seven to five years. The Seoul High Court threw out some corruption charges against her, including one involving a luxury watch from businessman Seo Seong-bin, who allegedly sought government support for his robotic dogs business.
In June, the Seoul Central District Court had found Kim guilty of accepting the watch. The high court said prosecutors had not sufficiently proved that the watch was provided in exchange for business favors. It upheld most of her other convictions.
Kim's legal team said it would appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn the remaining charges, arguing that prosecutors had failed to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution also plans to appeal. "It's difficult to accept that a first lady's acceptance of a watch worth tens of millions of won from a businessman with pending business matters does not constitute a crime," said Kim Han-soo, a member of an investigation team led by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki.
The ruling follows a separate case in April in which the high court sentenced Kim to four years over charges that she accepted gifts from the Unification Church and profited from a stock price manipulation scheme. She has appealed that sentence.
Among the convictions upheld on Tuesday was one for receiving a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and other jewelry worth more than 100 million won ($73,500) in total in 2022 from Seohee Construction Chairman Lee Bong-kwan, in exchange for securing a government post for Lee's son-in-law. Kim was also convicted of accepting a Dior handbag and other gifts from Pastor Choi Jae-yong, who sought to join a civilian diplomatic delegation and other government-funded programs; a gold turtle from former National Education Commission chief Lee Bae-yong, who had lobbied for that job; and a 140 million won ($102,900) painting by artist Lee Ufan from former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min, who sought a nomination by Yoon's conservative party for the 2024 legislative elections.
Yoon was removed from office in April 2025, months after he was impeached over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024 following a standoff with the liberal opposition. Arrested in July 2025, he is standing trial in multiple cases and has appealed a life sentence for rebellion. Liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who won an early presidential election last year to replace Yoon, has authorized multiple investigations by special prosecutors into Yoon's martial law imposition and other allegations involving his government and wife.