South Korea's former first lady sentenced to seven years for bribery

South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon-hee was sentenced to seven years in prison on bribery charge on Friday.

The ruling was delivered after the Seoul Central District Court found Kim, wife of ousted former president Yoon Suk-yeol, guilty of receiving various luxury gifts in exchange for job appointments and other favors.

The sentence is six months less than the original sought by the special counsel team.

The court found Kim guilty on all charges, concluding that she received about 300 million won ($195,000) worth of goods in return for arranging various solicitations, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Although Kim's legal team maintained that she either never received the items or that they were not linked to any specific requests, the court rejected these arguments.

"The defendant neglected the social responsibility demanded by her position as first lady and instead used it as a tool for private gain," the court said.

The fact that figures from various sectors approached Kim with solicitations and gifts showed that an informal patronage network around her had formed extensively across society, it added.

"Public decision-making processes, which should be fair and transparent, became entangled with money and were reduced to tradeable goods for her personal benefit. This fundamentally undermined the fairness and trust in public decision-making," it added.

After the sentence was handed down, Kim's legal team told reporters that the court over-extended circumstances unfavorable to Kim and that they will review the written judgment thoroughly to file an appeal.

The special counsel welcomed the verdict, saying it is an appropriate ruling that aligns with the general sense of justice.

In April, an appeal court sentenced Kim to four years in prison in a separate trial related to stock manipulation and bribery, overturning the lower court's 20-month sentence.

kelly@chinadailyapac.com