Former first lady given four-year sentence for stock manipulation, bribery in appeals ruling
Published: 28 Apr. 2026, 19:35
Updated: 28 Apr. 2026, 19:36
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![The Seoul High Court's ruling in former first lady Kim Keon Hee's trial on bribery and stock manipulation charges is televised at Seoul Station on April 28. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/28/814d9048-9dbe-4db6-92c9-13d2c009a440.jpg)
The Seoul High Court's ruling in former first lady Kim Keon Hee's trial on bribery and stock manipulation charges is televised at Seoul Station on April 28. [YONHAP]
The Seoul High Court on Tuesday sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to four years in prison, overturning her previous acquittal on charges of stock manipulation and bribery linked to the Unification Church.
The court also imposed a 50 million won ($33,900) fine on Kim, whose latest sentence marked a sharp increase from the 20-month prison term handed down three months ago by the Seoul Central District Court, which had cleared her of the most serious charges.
However, the appellate court upheld her acquittal on a separate charge of violating the Political Funds Act by receiving free opinion polling data from a political associate.
In its ruling, the Seoul High Court found that Kim was not merely a passive investor in the stock-manipulation scheme involving the car dealership Deutsch Motors, but an active participant.
The special counsel accused Kim of taking part in the manipulation of Deutsch Motors shares between 2010 and 2012, generating roughly 810 million won in illicit profits.
Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo and eight others were convicted two years ago of violating the Capital Markets Act by conducting the scheme, which used more than 150 accounts under 91 names to artificially inflate the company’s share price by nearly 400 percent through coordinated trades and thousands of transactions.
The court said Kim’s decision to entrust accounts and about 2 billion won in funds to Black Pearl Investment went beyond ordinary investment behavior.
“If the defendant had expected the stock price to rise naturally, she would not have allowed the firm to carry out discretionary trading while agreeing to hand over 40 percent of the profits,” the court said. It added that she “not only allowed the stock manipulation cartel to use large sums of money and accounts and share in the profits, but also directly participated in matched trading.”
![Former first lady Kim Keon Hee is seen during the final hearing of her trial on charges of violating the Capital Market Act at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Dec. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/28/a41e144c-8c21-45a8-9f3a-41de4c5c2989.jpg)
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee is seen during the final hearing of her trial on charges of violating the Capital Market Act at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Dec. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The appeals court also reversed the lower court’s finding that some of the offenses had exceeded the statute of limitations.
While the first trial treated the manipulations as separate incidents, the appellate court ruled that they constituted a single, continuous act extending through December 2012, thereby holding the charges valid.
On bribery charges, the court found Kim guilty of graft by accepting all valuables provided by figures linked to the Unification Church, including two Chanel handbags, ginseng extract and a Graff diamond necklace.
The lower court had recognized only one of the handbags as a bribe, citing a lack of clear quid pro quo in the other instance.
However, the appellate court found that her acceptance of the items “cannot be seen as simple exchanges based on vague expectations of a future relationship,” the court said.
The court concluded that the gifts were provided with the expectation that Kim would relay the church’s policy interests — including the formation of a UN-affiliated body — to her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol. It also cited her use of a separate phone “for confidential use” as evidence of her awareness of the illicit nature of the requests.
“A high level of morality is required of the president’s wife,” the court said. “By engaging in graft, the defendant has severely damaged public trust in state institutions and in the position of the first lady.”
The court consequently ordered the confiscation of the Graff necklace and an additional forfeiture of 20.94 million won.
However, the court upheld Kim’s previous acquittal on charges tied to opinion polling conducted by self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun, saying there was insufficient evidence that the surveys were carried out at the request of Kim or her husband.
The court further chastised Kim for refusing to acknowledge wrongdoing and maintaining a defensive stance throughout the proceedings.
“The defendant participated in price manipulation but has consistently denied responsibility,” the court said.
Kim appeared in court wearing a black suit, glasses and a mask, keeping her head down as the sentence was read. She exchanged brief remarks with her lawyers and passed notes during the hearing, but remained expressionless as the four-year sentence was delivered.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki had sought a combined sentence of 15 years in prison, a 2 billion won fine and forfeiture of 948.6 million won.
His team appealed the initial ruling, deeming it too lenient, after it was issued in January.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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