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Lee Jae-myung's wife fined 1.5 million won for abusing Gyeonggi gov't corporate card

Published: 12 May. 2025, 17:15 Updated: 12 May. 2025, 18:10

Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, appears at the Suwon High Court in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on May 12. [YONHAP]

Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, received a fine of 1.5 million won ($1,070) in an appellate court ruling on Monday for purchasing meals using a Gyeonggi provincial government corporate card.

The Suwon High Court upheld the lower court’s ruling, rejecting appeals from both the prosecution and the defense.

The court ruled that a dinner Kim hosted and paid for using a Gyeonggi government corporate card in August 2021 benefited her husband’s political campaign. Lee was the governor of Gyeonggi at the time.

“The dinner served as a networking opportunity for the defendant to connect with the spouses of influential Democratic Party politicians in support of Lee,” the court said. “Given that the participants appeared to expect Kim to pay for the meal and that she allowed an aide to cover the expense, we find that she implicitly condoned or accepted the act.”

The court also rejected Kim’s claim that each person paid for their meal themselves.

“The principle of individual payment was not properly observed at the time of the transaction,” the ruling said.

Prosecutors indicted Kim without detention in February 2024. She was accused of using a government credit card to pay for a meal worth 104,000 won at a Seoul restaurant for six people, including three spouses of former or current DP lawmakers, her driver and an aide.

The dinner took place when her husband was serving as Gyeonggi governor and had declared his candidacy in the party’s primary for the 2022 presidential election.

A confirmed fine of 1 million won or more results in a five-year ban on running for public office or participating in election campaigns under the Public Official Election Act. But since both parties could file further appeals, and with the presidential election scheduled for June 3, it is unlikely that the ruling will be finalized before the vote.

The delay means the ruling is unlikely to affect Kim’s involvement in campaign activities before election day.

Kim shares the same legal status as any campaign participant under election law and could face disqualification only if the Supreme Court upholds the current sentence before the election.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]