On Wednesday, at the Central District Court of Seoul, Judge Woo In-sun stated that Kim "abused her position for personal gain." He added that "the higher a person's status, the more carefully they must monitor their behavior." The judge noted that Kim did not decline offers of assistance and sought self-improvement.
A special investigation team appointed to examine the case found that from April to July 2022, Kim received gifts from the Unification Church worth 80 million won, including a Graff diamond necklace and several Chanel bags, in exchange for political and business preferences.
Although the prosecution requested 15 years of imprisonment and a fine of 2 billion won on all charges, the judge noted that Kim did not demand or extort bribes, and that she "has no significant legal prosecutions." Nevertheless, she is required to return 12.85 million won (about 9,000 USD) in cash, as well as return the diamond necklace.
Additionally, Kim is also suspected of involvement in recruiting supporters of the Unification Church into the conservative People Power Party, to which her husband belonged, and in receiving gifts in exchange for appointments to government positions. These charges have not yet been addressed by the court.
Kim Keon-hee rejected all accusations, calling them "deeply unfair," but admitted that she did receive Chanel bags, although she claims she did not use them and returned them. Last August, during questioning, Kim publicly apologized, expressing regret that "such an unknown person as herself caused concern among the people."
The investigation into her ties with the Unification Church also led to the arrest of the organization's leader, Han Hak-ja.
In addition to the criminal charges, Kim found herself at the center of other scandals. Last year, Sookmyung Women's University revoked her art education degree obtained in 1999 after an ethics committee found that she had committed plagiarism in her master's thesis.
