The appellate trial in first lady Kim Keon-hee's case over alleged money and goods from the Unification Church will begin on Apr. 11. Kim was sentenced in the first trial to one year and eight months in prison.
According to legal sources on the 25th, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 15-2 (High Court Judges Shin Jong-oh, Seong Eon-ju, and Won Ik-seon) set the first preparatory hearing in Kim's case on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act for 2 p.m. on Mar. 11. A preparatory hearing is a procedure to organize the positions of the prosecution and the special counsel, evidence, and plans to prove the case before full-fledged hearings. Unlike a formal court hearing, the defendant is not obligated to attend.
Criminal Division 15 of the Seoul High Court handles corruption cases and is also hearing the appeal of former Unification Church World Headquarters chief Yoon Young-ho along with Kim's case.
In the appeal, a battle is expected to continue between the Kim Keon-hee special counsel and the defense over the charges found not guilty in the first trial—violations of the Political Funds Act and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act—and the charge partially found guilty of influence peddling.
Earlier, the first-instance court sentenced Kim to one year and eight months in prison. Of the three main charges applied to Kim, only the charge of receiving expensive goods after being asked by the Unification Church side to support the denomination (influence peddling) was partially found guilty. The court ruled that, regarding the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act violation related to Deutsch Motors stock manipulation, the statute of limitations had expired for two of the three disputed periods. For the remaining one period, the court found it difficult to recognize a scheme to rig prices.
The first trial also acquitted Kim on the charge of receiving a free opinion poll from Myeong Tae-gyun, known as a so-called "political broker" (violation of the Political Funds Act).
On the same day, the appeal trial of the former headquarters chief Yoon will also begin. Yoon, accused of providing money and goods along with requests related to Unification Church pending issues to Kim and People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong (violations of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act), was sentenced in the first trial to one year and two months in prison. The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 15-1 (High Court Judges Won Ik-seon, Shin Jong-oh, and Seong Eon-ju) will open the first appellate court hearing on the same charges at 2 p.m. on Mar. 11.
The appeal of lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, who was sentenced in the first trial to two years in prison on charges of receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from the former headquarters chief Yoon, has been assigned to the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Kim Jong-ho, senior judge), and the first court hearing is scheduled for the 26th.