The court reduced the sentence of the former first lady of South Korea

Seoul's high court has reduced the jail term for former president Kim Kon-hee's wife from seven to five years in a corruption case. According to Yonhap news agency, the court found unproven charges of two counts of receiving expensive gifts in exchange for political favors and assistance in appointing her husband Yoon Seok Yel to office.

Initially, Kim Kon-hee was found guilty of six episodes of receiving expensive gifts, including jewelry worth about $ 74,000, a Vacheron Constantin watch worth about $ 30,000, a painting by famous artist Lee Wufan, a designer Dior bag, as well as a figure of a golden turtle worth about $ 2 thousand and copies of the famous canvas of the Joseon era. On this basis, she was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Now the court reviewed the case and found that in the episode with an expensive watch and a copy of the painting, the corrupt connection between gifts and services was not proven. The court confirmed the guilt of Kim Kon-hee on the remaining charges, decided to confiscate the gifts she received and recover $ 18 thousand in favor of the state.

In February, Kim’s husband, former President Yoon Seok Yel, was sentenced to life in prison for unjustified imposition of martial law in 2024, which was classified as an attempted sedition. In July, he was added another two years in prison for illegally receiving free opinion polling services.

Alena Miklashevskaya