torsdag 29. januar 2026

How a love of luxury brought down South Korea’s former first lady

It all started with a designer handbag. Then two, then a luxury necklace, and more.

Now, it’s ending in jail time for South Korea’s former first lady.

Kim Keon Hee, the wife of disgraced (and also jailed) former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison on Wednesday for bribery –– in just one of three criminal trials she is facing. Both prosecutors and Kim’s team can appeal the ruling.

The court found Kim guilty of accepting bribes from the controversial religious sect Unification Church, including a Chanel bag and a Graff diamond necklace. But it found her not guilty of stock manipulation and conspiring with her husband to receive free public opinion polls, citing lack of sufficient evidence and expired statute of limitations – and also cleared her for receiving a second Chanel bag.