Former first lady’s sentence increased to four years in prison on appeal
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SEOUL, April 28 (AJP) – Former first lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced on Tuesday to four years in prison on multiple charges in an appellate ruling, more than twice the 20-month sentence handed down in the first trial.
In a televised verdict, the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul found her guilty of accepting luxury handbags and jewelry in return for favors from secretive religious sect Unification Church, better known as the Moonies, as well as involvement in stock manipulation, among multiple allegations against her.
Unlike the lower court, which in January dismissed her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, the appellate court also found her guilty of the charge, citing legal flaws in the first trial’s ruling.
The court said, “Kim entrusted her accounts, along with large sums of money, to stock manipulators for use, shared in the profits, and actively took part in coordinated trading,” overturning the lower court’s ruling that while she may have been aware her accounts were being used for market manipulation, there was insufficient evidence that she had planned or participated in the scheme in advance.
But it found insufficient evidence for other charges that she allegedly interfered with candidate nominations during the 2022 by-elections.
The court also ordered Kim to pay a fine of 50 million won (about US$34,000).
Her sentence on appeal was far heavier than the 20-month prison term handed down in the first trial, but still well short of the 15 years prosecutors had sought.
Kim vowed to appeal immediately following the ruling.
Content retrieved from: https://m.ajupress.com/amp/20260428171339881.
