Former first lady sentenced in luxury gift scandal

Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for accepting luxury items, including a Chanel handbag and a Graff necklace, in connection with lobbying linked to the Unification Church. The ruling marks the first time in South Korean history that both a former president and a former first lady have received prison sentences.

The court said Kim exploited her status as first lady for personal gain, leaving a lasting stain on the country’s political history. It ruled that she failed to reject high-end luxury items connected to lobbying efforts and instead focused on personal adornment after receiving them.

The court found that Kim was aware the handbag and necklace, delivered in July 2022, were tied to lobbying aimed at securing government support. It rejected her claim that the gifts were given without expectations of favors. According to the ruling, Unification Church official Yoon Young-ho told Geonjin Beopsa Jeon Seong-bae that government backing was necessary for church projects, and Kim later told Yoon that she was working to provide such support after receiving the handbag.

Although Kim held no formal authority over state affairs, the court concluded that accepting luxury goods while attempting to influence government policy amounted to a clear case of privatizing state power.

Kim denied receiving the Graff necklace, but the court found her testimony to be false. She was also criticized for instructing a close aide involved in the Chanel handbag case to deny receipt of the item, which the court said amounted to coercing false statements. Her shifting explanations regarding a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, allegedly provided in exchange for lobbying over personnel matters, were contradicted by a written confession from the chair of Seohee Construction, who delivered the necklace.

The court acquitted Kim of charges that she colluded with individuals involved in manipulating Deutsch Motors’ stock price and that she interfered in People Power Party nominations in exchange for free opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun. However, she remains under judicial scrutiny over allegations that she accepted high-end gifts in exchange for official influence and that she helped facilitate collective Unification Church membership to sway a party leadership election.

Allegations of collusion with the Unification Church extend beyond Kim. On the same day, the court sentenced Rep. Kwon Seong-dong, a close ally of former President, to two years in prison for receiving 100 million won ahead of the 2022 presidential election. According to the special prosecutor’s indictment, Yoon later promised to accommodate the church’s requests after his election and pledged to pursue them during his term.

Investigators believe the Unification Church approached the former presidential couple through separate intermediaries: Kwon and Jeon. Questions remain over the scope and depth of coordination between the church and the former president and first lady.