Seoul court sentences Kim Keon Hee to four years in prison

The Seoul High Court sentenced former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee to four years in prison. The court convicted her of stock-price manipulation and bribery. The ruling overturned her earlier acquittal on the market-related charges. The sentence was reported on April 28.

A first lady is the spouse of a president and does not hold a separate elected office. Kim Keon Hee held that role in the previous South Korean presidency. A high court is an appeals court, above the trial court and below the supreme court. Four years is a prison term, not a fine.

Stock-price manipulation is an illegal effort to move the price of shares. Bribery is paying or receiving something of value in exchange for improper influence. The court found both. Overturning an acquittal means an earlier court had cleared her on the market charges and this court reversed that part of the case.

The report does not name the companies whose shares were at issue. It does not state the amount of any bribe. It does not say whether she will appeal to the Supreme Court. The legal result that is public is the four-year sentence and the two offenses.

Cases against a former first lady are politically sensitive because they touch the previous presidency. This judgment is still a court ruling with a defined term. An acquittal that is later overturned shows the case was contested through more than one level of court. The Seoul High Court is the court that imposed the four years.

Kim Keon Hee is under a four-year prison sentence for stock-price manipulation and bribery. The Seoul High Court overturned an earlier acquittal on the market charges. No sums of money were stated in the report of the sentence. The ruling was issued on April 28.