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Court set to deliver ruling on ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee's corruption case

Published: 28 Jan. 2026, 12:04

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after her warrant hearing on Aug. 12, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A court is set to deliver its verdict Wednesday on the corruption and bribery case of former first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the first ruling of three criminal trials she faces.

The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to hold the sentencing hearing at 2:10 p.m., which will be televised live.

If found guilty, Kim and her husband would become the first former presidential couple to both be convicted. Yoon has been sentenced to five years in prison on charges stemming from his martial law bid in 2024 and faces more charges, including leading an insurrection.

Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team has demanded a 15-year prison term against Kim in the trial on charges that include involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church.

Specifically, Kim has been charged with conspiring with a former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in Korea, as well as a close associate, to manipulate the company's stock price and make 810 million won ($565,170) in illegal profits between 2010 and 2012.

She was also indicted for receiving free opinion polls worth 270 million won, together with her husband, from a self-proclaimed power broker ahead of the 2022 presidential election.

The former first lady was additionally charged with conspiring with a shaman to receive luxury gifts worth 80 million won from a Unification Church official in 2022, along with requests for business favors.

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee appears at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 3, 2025, for a sentencing hearing. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Kim, who has been held in custody over the charges since August, has denied all of them.

Meanwhile, the court is scheduled to sentence other individuals the same day in the bribery case involving the Unification Church, including a former church official accused of handing over the luxury gifts to Kim.

It will also hand down its verdict on Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who has been accused of receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from the church.

The former first lady faces two additional trials, including one on allegations of involvement in mass recruiting Unification Church followers to the PPP and the other on the alleged acceptance of luxury gifts in exchange for government job appointments.

Yonhap