Ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee gets seven years for influence-peddling

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday after a Seoul court found her guilty of accepting luxury jewelry, designer goods and other valuables in exchange for arranging personnel appointments and business favors.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim to seven years in prison on charges of influence peddling under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The court also ordered that items that Kim accepted — a painting by artist Lee Ufan, an empty Vacheron Constantin watch box, a golden turtle case, a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace, a Tiffany brooch and a Dior bag — be confiscated. It also ordered Kim to forfeit 64.8 million won ($42,000).

All of the people indicted alongside Kim for providing the gifts were also found guilty. Lee Bong-kwan, chairman of Seohee Construction, was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years. A robotic dog entrepreneur surnamed Seo received a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, while Pastor Choi Jae-young was fined 8 million won.

The court found Kim guilty of all charges, alleging that she accepted gifts worth about 300 million won in return for arranging various favors.

The court found that between March 15 and May 20, 2022, Kim accepted jewelry worth a combined 103.8 million won from Lee, including a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, a Tiffany & Co. brooch and Graff earrings, in exchange for helping secure a personnel appointment for Lee's eldest son-in-law.

It also found Kim guilty of accepting a golden turtle ornament and a replica of "Sehando" (1844), a traditional painting and national treasure, worth 2.65 million won, from former National Education Commission Chair Lee Bae-yong on April 26, 2022, in exchange for assistance with Lee's appointment to the commission. The court also convicted Kim of accepting a Vacheron Constantin watch worth 39.9 million won from the entrepreneur surnamed Seo in September that year in return for business-related assistance.

The court further found Kim guilty of accepting a Dior bag and other gifts totaling 5.4 million won from Pastor Choi between June and September 2022 in exchange for favors related to public officials' duties. It also found Kim guilty of accepting a Lee Ufan painting worth 140 million won from former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min in February 2023 in return for help securing the ruling party's nomination.

Kim's legal team argued that she either never received the gifts or did not accept them in exchange for arranging specific favors, but the court rejected the arguments.

"People from various sectors of society approached the defendant and provided valuables in an attempt to influence public appointments, government contracts and ruling party nominations, which demonstrates that the informal lobbying network surrounding Kim Keon Hee was not confined to a particular group but was widespread throughout society," the court said.

"The public decision-making process, which should be fair and transparent, became tied to money and was reduced to a vehicle for private gain, fundamentally undermining the fairness and credibility of public decision-making."

"The defendant repeatedly accepted valuables by using her influence as the spouse of the president as a means of influence peddling, abandoning the social responsibilities that came with that position," added the court.

Earlier, the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki had sought a sentence of seven years and six months in prison and requested that Kim forfeit 56.36 million won.

BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]