On the 28th, citizens are watching a live broadcast of the appellate court's sentencing for Madam Kim Keon-hee, who is accused of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church, stock manipulation of Deutsch Motors, and free opinion polls by Myong Tae-kyun, in the main hall of Seoul Station. On this day, the appellate court sentenced Madam Kim Keon-hee to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won. [Yonhap News] 

The prison sentence for Madam Kim Keon-hee, who was brought to trial on charges including stock manipulation of Deutsch Motors and receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church, has increased from one year and eight months in the first trial to four years in the second trial.

The Criminal Division 15-2 of the Seoul High Court (High Court Judges Shin Jong-oh, Seong Eon-joo, Won Ik-seon) sentenced Madam Kim, who was indicted and detained on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act, and receiving bribes for arbitration under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won on the 28th.

Confiscation of one Graff necklace, valued at 62.2 million won, and an additional charge of 20.94 million won were also ordered.

This sentence is heavier than the first trial's sentence of one year and eight months in prison, but it falls short of the special prosecutor's request for 15 years in prison.

The appellate court overturned the first trial's verdict of not guilty for the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation charges and found her partially guilty.

Specifically, it was determined that her act of entrusting stock trading of Deutsch Motors to Black Pearl Investment by providing a securities account containing 2 billion won in October-November 2010, and selling 180,000 shares of Deutsch Motors during that period, constituted participation in market manipulation.

Kim Keon-hee attending court [AP=Yonhap News file photo]

The charges of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church and receiving bribes for arbitration under the Special Punishment Act, related to April-July 2022, were also found to be entirely guilty, overturning the first trial's partial guilty verdict.

In the first trial, the court found the part where she received a Chanel bag worth 8.02 million won from the Unification Church in April 2022 not guilty, stating there was no specific request.

However, the appellate court ruled that Madam Kim was aware of the so-called "implicit request" and received the bag in return for arbitration.

The court found Madam Kim not guilty of violating the Political Funds Act related to the "Myong Tae-kyun opinion poll receipt" charges, as in the first trial.

This was based on the reasoning that since Mr. Myong provided opinion polls to various individuals, not just the former President and his wife, it could not be concluded that the couple received proprietary benefits equivalent to the cost of the opinion polls.

It was also pointed out that it could not be concluded that the former President and his wife promised the nomination of former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun in exchange for free opinion polls.

Regarding the sentencing, the court stated, "Despite providing a large sum of money and accounts necessary for the market manipulation offense and participating in market manipulation through collusive trading, the defendant has consistently maintained her innocence and offered excuses." "It appears that the defendants, including the accused, gained considerable profits from the crime."

Furthermore, it was pointed out, "The general public expects the spouse of the President to possess the same level of integrity and morality as the President, and this can by no means be considered an excessive demand in light of the significant position of the President granted by the Constitution." "Nevertheless, the defendant used that position to engage in bribery for arbitration and betrayed the public's expectations."

However, it was explained that favorable factors considered included that the defendant did not lead the market manipulation offense, the period of involvement was relatively short, and she did not actively solicit money and valuables from the Unification Church.

The sentencing hearing was broadcast live with court permission. Madam Kim's side stated immediately after the appellate court's ruling, "We will appeal to the Supreme Court."