Acquittals on some counts reduce sentence from 7 years
Appeals court says no clear motive to hand over watch worth more than twice the contract value
Kim's side vows to appeal guilty verdicts; special prosecutor expresses regret over acquittals
Kim Keon Hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, had her sentence reduced from seven years to five years Tuesday as a Seoul appeals court acquitted her on two counts that a lower court had found proven — receiving a luxury watch linked to a robot dog business deal and accepting a replica painting in connection with a request over a government education post.
Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 15-3, presided over by Judges Seong Eon-ju, Won Ik-seon and Lee Hui-jun, overturned the first-instance ruling and sentenced Kim to five years in prison on charges of aggravated bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The court also ordered the forfeiture of a painting by artist Lee Woo-hwan, a gold turtle figurine and its case, a diamond necklace, a brooch and a Dior pouch that had been seized, and imposed a surcharge of 24.4 million won ($17,600).
The appeals court acquitted Kim on charges related to a Vacheron Constantin watch valued at approximately 39.9 million won that she allegedly received from Seo Seong-bin, a businessman involved in the robot dog project — reversing the first-instance guilty verdict on that count.
The court said the Presidential Security Service's robot dog project had already been internally initiated and in effect decided upon immediately after Yoon's election, at the initiative of then-Security Service Director Kim Yong-hyun. "Seo was not substantively involved in or lobbying for the contract, and it is difficult to find a clear motive for handing over a watch worth more than twice the contract value of 18 million won," the court said.
The court also reversed the guilty verdict on charges that Kim received a replica of the Joseon-era painting "Sehan-do" from Lee Bae-yong, then chairwoman of the National Council on Educational Policy.
The court said the replica was a promotional item produced with foundation funds to raise awareness of hanji's UNESCO registration bid, and that its nature differed from that of the gold turtle figurine. It added that evidence linking the gift to a request regarding the chairwoman appointment was insufficient.
All other major charges were upheld, as in the first-instance ruling.
The court found Kim guilty of receiving jewelry — including a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and other pieces valued at approximately 103.8 million won ($75,000) — from Lee Bong-gwan, chairman of Seohee Construction, in exchange for lobbying for a senior government appointment for her eldest son-in-law. The gifts, received between March and May 2022, were deemed to have been given in anticipation of Kim's influence following Yoon's election victory. The court found they constituted consideration for lobbying on behalf of Park Seong-geun, Kim's eldest son-in-law and a former chief of staff to the prime minister.
The court also upheld guilty verdicts on charges that Kim received a work by artist Lee Woo-hwan valued at approximately 140 million won from former prosecutor Kim Sang-min in exchange for helping him secure a People Power Party nomination, and that she accepted a luxury Dior handbag from Pastor Choi Jae-young between June and September 2022.
In explaining the sentence, the court said Kim had "forgotten her position as the sitting president's spouse and reduced her influence to a tool for private transactions, gravely undermining the transparency of state affairs and public trust." However, it said it took into account the acquittals on the watch-related charges and the absence of any prior criminal record.
Immediately after the ruling, Kim's legal team said it "cannot agree with the remaining charges on which a guilty verdict was maintained," adding that it would "respect the intent of the acquittals while reviewing the grounds to challenge the upheld guilty verdicts before the Supreme Court."
The special prosecution team led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki expressed regret over the acquittals, saying it remained to be seen whether "the general public can accept a ruling that finds no crime in a first lady receiving luxury watches worth tens of millions of won from a businessman with pending interests." The team said it would review whether to seek correction at the Supreme Court.
The first-instance court had convicted Kim on all charges and sentenced her to seven years in prison in June.
At the time, the trial court said the president's spouse occupies a position particularly susceptible to lobbying and conflicts of interest, and therefore "must exercise stricter self-restraint and vigilance than anyone else." It found that Kim had "repeatedly accepted gifts in breach of that social responsibility."
The court added that she had "accepted high-value items that most ordinary citizens could never acquire in a lifetime, without apparent hesitation," and noted that those who provided the gifts included the chairman of a mid-sized construction company, a businessman, a Korean American, a pastor, a sitting prosecutor and a former university president — evidence, it said, of "an informal lobbying structure that had taken root broadly across society."
Throughout the appeals proceedings, Kim's defense maintained that "the quid pro quo relationship between the gifts and the requests had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt," and argued for acquittal on all counts.
In her final statement before the appeals court, Kim wept and said, "I did not sell public office. If I have done something wrong, I will not avoid responsibility — but I absolutely cannot say I did something I did not do."
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