South Korea’s former first lady sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The wife of South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption Wednesday, as her husband awaits a verdict on high-stakes rebellion charges that could result in the death penalty or life imprisonment.

The presidential couple suffered a spectacular fall from grace after Yoon’s martial law debacle in December 2024 led to his impeachment and eventually his removal from office. Yoon was handed a five-year prison term this month for defying authorities’ attempts to detain him and other charges related to the martial law decree.

They have been jailed separately for months prior to facing criminal trials. Investigators say Kim wasn’t involved in Yoon’s martial law enforcement.

Kim’s opponents say her sentence is too lenient

On Wednesday, Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim for receiving luxury gifts like a Graff diamond necklace and a Chanel bag from the Unification Church in return for promises of political favors.

“Being closest to a president, a first lady can exert significant influence on him and is a symbolic figure who represents the country together with a president,” the court said in a televised verdict. “But the defendant exploited her position to seek personal gains.”

Kim said via her lawyers that she would “humbly accept” the court’s view and “apologizes again to everyone for causing concerns.”

The 20-month sentence was a surprise after independent counsel Min Joong-ki called for a 15-year prison term for Kim on three charges including stock price manipulation, political funding law violations and accepting bribes. The court acquitted Kim of two other charges, citing a lack of evidence and other reasons.

Min’s team responded that it cannot accept the ruling and will appeal to a higher court. The governing liberal Democratic Party, which led Yoon’s ouster, slammed the verdict as sending a wrong signal that “abuse of power like Kim Keon Hee’s can be tolerated.”

Kim’s lawyer Choi Ji-woo said Min’s investigation was politically driven. He said Kim’s defense team thanked the court for its verdict but said the 20-month prison term was “relatively high.” He said his team will discuss whether to appeal.

Kim’s scandals were political burdens for Yoon

Kim has been in jail since August when the Seoul court approved a warrant to arrest her, citing the chance she might destroy evidence.

When Yoon was in office, Kim was embroiled in a slew of scandals that severely hurt the conservative leader’s approval rating and provided relentless political ammunition to his rivals. The scandals included the three charges the court dealt with Wednesday.

Many observers speculated Yoon opted to place the country under a military rule to protect his wife from possible investigations. But after a six-month probe into Yoon’s decree, investigators led by another independent counsel, Cho Eun-suk, in December downplayed conjecture that Kim’s troubles drove Yoon to declare martial law.

Yoon plotted for over a year to declare martial law so he could eliminate his political opponents and monopolize power and there was also no evidence of Kim’s involvement, Cho’s team said.

Yoon awaiting verdict on rebellion charge

The ruling against Kim was made about three weeks before the court delivers its verdict on a rebellion charge against Yoon. Cho’s team has demanded the death sentence for Yoon by viewing his martial law imposition as a rebellion.

A rebellion conviction carries the death penalty or life imprisonment. But a court could immediately commute the sentences. Experts say the court likely will sentence him to life or a lengthy imprisonment because South Korea has maintained a de-facto moratorium on executions since late 1997.

After a near-constant collision course with his liberal rivals, Yoon abruptly declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, vowing to eliminate “anti-state forces” and “shameless North Korea sympathizers.” He has defended his action, calling it a desperate attempt to draw public support for his fight against the Democratic Party which obstructed his agenda.

Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly. But many failed to aggressively cordon off the area as thousands of people gathered, calling for Yoon’s ouster. Lawmakers, including some from Yoon’s own ruling party, entered an assembly hall and voted down his decree.

Yoon was later impeached by the National Assembly, arrested by prosecutors and formally thrown out of office after a Constitutional Court ruling.