Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to jail for 20 months after she accepted bribes. The Unification Church is the source of the bribes.
In South Korea, this is the first instance in history where a couple of former presidents has been found guilty simultaneously. Yoon Suk Yeol was already sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power and obstruction of justice when he attempted martial law, but failed.
The Court has cleared some charges
Kim, 52 years old, was cleared by the Seoul Central District Court of all charges against her including manipulation of stock prices and receiving opinion polls for free from a broker political before 2022’s.
The judge Woo Insung said that Kim “misused [her] position to pursue personal gain.” The judge added that “the higher the position one holds.The more conscious one should be about such behavior.” “The defendant did not reject the solicitations, but instead focused on his own self-adornment.”
Bribery Details
Investigators discovered that Kim had received gifts from the Unification Church worth around 80 million wons (approximately 56,600. These included a Graff Diamond Necklace and Chanel Handbags. The gifts were exchanged allegedly for political and business favors.
Kim, despite the fact that prosecutors had sought 15 years in prison and 2 billion won as a fine on all counts, was found guilty of just one. She was not found guilty of soliciting bribes, and she had no criminaL.
Kim was ordered to pay 12.85 millions won and confiscate the diamond necklace.
There are also other allegations and controversy
Kim is also facing charges for recruiting Unification Church members for the People Power Party, and for accepting gifts as a form of compensation for appointments. These cases have not yet been heard by the court.
She called all the charges “deeply unfair” but admitted receiving Chanel handbags, which she claimed she had returned unopened. She apologized publicly during the questioning in August last year, saying “I’m truly sorry that someone like me could have caused people concern.”
Han Hak Ja was also arrested after investigations into her business dealings. Sookmyung Women’s University also revoked a degree in art education after discovering.
