The Seoul High Court sentenced first lady Kim Keon-hee to four years in prison on appeal over the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case and allegations of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church. Some stock manipulation charges that were acquitted at the first trial were overturned to guilty on appeal, and the guilty finding on the influence-peddling charge related to money and valuables from the Unification Church was maintained, increasing the sentence.
The Criminal Division 15-2 of the Seoul High Court (presiding judge Shin Jong-o, senior judge) on the 28th sentenced Kim to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won on charges of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, violating the Political Funds Act, and violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery through mediation). The court ordered the forfeiture of one seized diamond necklace from Graff of the United Kingdom and imposed an additional collection of 20.94 million won.
The sentencing was broadcast live. At about 2:58 p.m., Kim entered the courtroom wearing a black suit, black horn-rimmed glasses, and a white mask. Appearing barely able to keep balance, Kim took the defendant's seat with the help of correctional officers on both sides. Kim kept her head bowed and showed little movement during the sentencing.
Unlike the first trial, the appeals court found that Kim participated in price manipulation in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case. The court said, "It cannot be ruled out that Kim's agreement to pay 40% revenue to Black Pearl Invest was compensation for a price rise artificially created by the Black Pearl side, apart from a share price increase due to market conditions," adding, "Kim appears to have had at least a conditional awareness that the accounts provided to the Black Pearl side could be used for price-manipulation acts."
The court went on, "It can be recognized that she participated with a shared intent to engage in price-manipulation acts and through functional control over the acts," ruling that "she is recognized as a joint principal offender." The court said, "This undermined the sound development of the stock market based on supply and demand," and "disrupted the fairness and transparency of the stock market, causing unforeseeable losses to retail investors and damaging economic order."
The court also maintained the guilty verdict on the influence-peddling charge related to receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church. The court said, "She engaged in influence-peddling by using her status as the spouse of former President Yoon Suk-yeol," adding, "She betrayed the public's expectations of a presidential spouse." However, as in the first trial, the court found Kim not guilty of violating the Political Funds Act on allegations that she received, free of charge, public opinion polls worth a total of about 270 million won from Myung Tae-gyun and exerted influence to secure the nomination of former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun in a primary.
Kim showed little reaction throughout the roughly one hour and 30 minutes of the appellate sentencing. With her head bowed, she stared toward the desk in front of the defendant's seat. Even after standing just before the court read the order at about 4:30 p.m., she listened to the sentencing for about a minute without visible agitation. After the heavier sentence than in the first trial was handed down, she left the courtroom with her eyes tightly squinted. There was no particular commotion in the courtroom during the sentencing.
Kim was indicted and detained on charges that, between 2009 and 2012, as a financier (jeonju) in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case, she colluded with former Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo and former Black Pearl Invest CEO Lee Jong-ho, an account manager, and obtained unjust gains of more than 810 million won by placing over 3,700 buy and sell orders through matched trades and the like.
Kim was also charged with, during the 2022 presidential election, receiving free of charge on 58 occasions public opinion polls worth a total of about 270 million won from so-called "political broker" Myung Tae-gyun, and exerting influence so that former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun, who had ties with Myung, would receive a nomination in the National Assembly by-election that same year.
In addition, from Apr. to Aug. 2022, through "Geonjin" Jeon Seong-bae, she received luxury goods worth about 80 million won, including two Chanel bags and a Graff diamond necklace, from a former senior Unification Church official, and was charged with helping advance Unification Church agenda items such as the "Cambodia Mekong River site official development assistance (ODA)" and the "bid to bring the United Nations (UN) Fifth Secretariat to Korea."
Earlier, the first trial recognized only part of the influence-peddling charge related to receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church as guilty among Kim's charges and sentenced her to one year and eight months in prison. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the seized Graff diamond necklace from the United Kingdom and the collection of 12.81 million won. However, it found her not guilty regarding one Chanel bag, saying there was insufficient basis to conclude that a request was made.
The special counsel probing Kim Keon-hee requested a total sentence of 15 years in prison for Kim at the appellate closing hearing held on the 8th.
Kim's side said immediately after the sentencing that it would appeal to the Supreme Court. After the hearing, Kim's attorney Choi Ji-woo said, "We will closely analyze the written judgment and correct improper parts at the final appeal." Choi said, "There is no direct evidence that Kim recognized the stock manipulation," adding, "It is problematic to recognize joint principal liability based only on partial circumstances."
Attorney Chae Myung-sung, regarding the court's recognition of Kim's conditional awareness, said, "There is a difference from the ringleaders of stock manipulation," adding, "It is regrettable that this was not reflected in the sentencing."