Kim Keon-hee Sentenced to 4 Years in Appeals Court for Bribery and Stock Manipulation

Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon-hee has been sentenced to 4 years in prison in an appeals court ruling today for bribery and stock manipulation. While she was sentenced to 1 year and 8 months in the first trial, the high court increased the penalty to 4 years, though this is still less than the 15 years sought by the special prosecution. According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul High Court found her guilty of violating the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act, and bribery laws. The court sentenced her to 4 years plus a fine of 50 million won. It also ordered the confiscation of a diamond necklace and a collection of approximately 20.94 million won. Crucially, the appeals court overturned the first trial's 'not guilty' verdict regarding manipulation of Deutsche Motors stock, finding her guilty of providing a securities account and trading 180,000 shares to influence stock prices in late 2010. Furthermore, the court ruled that her acceptance of luxury bags from the Unification Church constituted bribery, as she was aware of 'implied requests.' However, charges related to political poll manipulation were dismissed due to lack of evidence of direct financial benefit. Kim's legal team plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.