A Seoul appeals court reduced the prison term of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol's wife from seven years to five after tossing a key corruption charge, but prosecutors say they will fight the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court.
The Seoul High Court on Tuesday trimmed Kim Keon Hee's sentence after concluding that prosecutors failed to prove a luxury watch she received from a businessman amounted to a bribe. The court threw out the charge tied to that watch while upholding most of the remaining convictions against her for accepting expensive gifts from people who wanted political and business favors from her husband's administration.
Kim, the wife of South Korea's ousted president, was originally convicted by the Seoul Central District Court in June for accepting the watch from businessman Seo Seong-bin. The high court's decision to strip that charge drove the two-year reduction in her sentence. Both sides now plan to take the case to South Korea's Supreme Court, the prosecution to restore the watch charge, and Kim's defense team to try to overturn the convictions that remain.
The gifts Kim was convicted of accepting read like a catalog of high-end luxury goods. Seohee Construction chairman Lee Bong-kwan allegedly gave her a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and other jewelry worth more than 100 million won, roughly $73,500, in 2022. Prosecutors said Lee wanted Kim's help securing a government post for his son-in-law.
Pastor Choi Jae-yong provided a Dior handbag and other gifts, prosecutors said, while seeking a spot on a civilian diplomatic delegation and access to government-funded programs. Lee Bae-yong, who became the chief of the National Education Commission, allegedly gave Kim a gold turtle while lobbying for the job.
Former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min allegedly handed over a painting by famed artist Lee Ufan valued at 140 million won, about $102,900, while angling for a nomination from Yoon's conservative party ahead of the 2024 legislative elections. The appeals court left those convictions intact.
Kim Han-soo, a member of the investigation team led by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki, made clear the prosecution has no intention of letting the watch charge disappear. He told reporters after the ruling:
"It's difficult to accept that a first lady's acceptance of a watch worth tens of millions of won from a businessman with pending business matters does not constitute a crime."
Seo Seong-bin, the businessman who gave Kim the watch, was reportedly seeking government support for his robotic dogs business. The high court ruled prosecutors had not sufficiently proved the timepiece was provided in exchange for those business favors, a finding the prosecution clearly intends to challenge before the Supreme Court.
Kim Keon Hee's legal team struck a different tone. Her lawyers said they would appeal the remaining convictions, arguing prosecutors had failed to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on any of the charges.
Tuesday's ruling is not Kim's only legal problem. In a separate case in April, the same Seoul High Court sentenced her to four years in prison for accepting gifts from the Unification Church and profiting from a stock price manipulation scheme. That conviction stands independently of the luxury-gift case.
Her husband's legal situation is even more severe. Yoon Suk Yeol briefly imposed martial law in December 2024 following a standoff with South Korea's liberal opposition. He was subsequently impeached and removed from office in April 2025, then arrested in July 2025. Yoon is now standing trial in multiple cases and has appealed a life sentence for rebellion.
The dueling appeals guarantee this case will grind on for months. Prosecutors want the watch charge restored and the original seven-year sentence reinstated. Kim's defense wants every remaining conviction overturned. Neither side showed any interest in accepting Tuesday's split decision as the final word.
Several questions remain unanswered. Whether Kim Keon Hee is currently behind bars or free pending appeal is unclear from court proceedings reported so far. The status of her appeal in the separate four-year Unification Church case is also unresolved. And the fates of the people who allegedly gave her gifts, whether they received the government posts, party nominations, or program access they sought, remain publicly unaddressed.
When a president's spouse turns the office into a gift-receiving counter and the courts still cannot agree on which luxury items count as bribes, the problem is not one bad ruling, it is a political culture that let the transactions happen in the first place.
