Court gives permission for live broadcast coverage of ex-first lady sentencing hearing
Published: 27 Jan. 2026, 14:52
Updated: 27 Jan. 2026, 18:58
![Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, center, is seen during the final hearing on charges of violating the Capital Market Act held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/27/35e55ef1-ee0c-4b2b-839b-9b76551a49c9.jpg)
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, center, is seen during the final hearing on charges of violating the Capital Market Act held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
A Seoul court on Tuesday approved live broadcast coverage of a sentencing hearing for former first lady Kim Keon Hee, whose case includes allegations of stock price manipulation and bribery tied to the Unification Church.
The Seoul Central District Court said it would allow broadcasters to air the sentencing hearing, scheduled for 2:10 p.m. Wednesday. Kim faces charges of violating the Capital Markets Act and the Political Funds Act.
The court said it will record the proceedings using its own equipment and stream the footage to broadcasters in real time. It cautioned that technical delays could occur.
Kim was indicted in August last year for allegedly participating in a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors from October 2010 to December 2012, resulting in an illicit gain of approximately 810 million won ($559,200).
The former first lady also stands accused of conspiring with her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol between June 2021 and March 2022 to receive public opinion poll results from self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun on 58 occasions, amounting to roughly 270 million won.
Further charges allege that between April and July 2022, Kim conspired with Jeon Sung-bae — also known as Geon Jin — to receive luxury gifts including a Graff diamond necklace and a Chanel bag, valued at around 80 million won, from a Unification Church affiliate in exchange for favors.
Prosecutors from the special counsel team previously demanded an 11-year prison sentence, a fine of 2 billion won and the forfeiture of 811.44 million won in connection with the Deutsch Motors and Unification Church allegations.
For the charges related to public opinion poll data, prosecutors sought an additional four-year prison sentence and the forfeiture of 137.2 million won.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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