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Prosecutors charged former South Korean first lady Kim Geun-hee with accepting bribes of luxury goods such as art, jewelry and handbags worth more than $200,000 and interfering in state affairs.
The wife of former President Yoon Seok-gyeol was arrested in August and faces a number of charges, including stock market manipulation, passive corruption and election law violations.
In a statement issued after a six-month investigation, Prosecutor Min Joong-gi said South Korean institutions had been “seriously shaken by Ms. Kim’s abuses of power.”
The former first lady (2022-2025) "illegally interfered in state affairs in the corridors, away from the public eye," explained another prosecutor, Kim Hyeong-gyun.
The prosecution accuses the former first lady of taking bribes totaling 377.25 million won (223,000 euros) from businessmen and politicians. She is also suspected of receiving two Chanel handbags and a Graff necklace from the head of the Unification Church (ed.: Moon sect) Ha Hak-ja. In addition to the luxury jewelry, a painting by the famous South Korean minimalist artist Lee Woo-fan, a Dior handbag and a jewelry wristwatch.
Former President Yun denied any knowledge of the transactions when questioned by prosecutors.
In early December, prosecutors sought a 15-year prison sentence and a two billion won ($1.4 million) fine for the former first lady, saying she acted as if she were “above the law” and “collaborated with a religious organization, calling into question the separation of religion and state as enshrined in the constitution.”
Kim denies all the accusations, which he calls “deeply unfair.” Former President Yoon declared a state of emergency that lasted only a few hours in December 2024, plunging South Korea into a serious political crisis.
He was removed from office this year after being found guilty of sedition, a charge he denied.
It was the first time in history that a former president and his wife were both arrested on separate criminal charges. A court will deliver its verdict in Ms. Kim's case on January 28.
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