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Kim Keon-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, stands as her sentence is read in her trial on corruption charges at the Seoul Central District Court on Jan. 28, 2026. (still from video provided by Seoul Central District Court)

A court found Kim Keon-hee not guilty of stock manipulation and receiving free opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun. Finding her guilty of quid quo pro for accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church, the court sentenced the former first lady to 20 months in prison. 

Given the severity of Kim’s offenses, the sentence is preposterously light. 

There are a number of factors that make the court’s reasoning for acquitting Kim on multiple counts difficult to accept. There will need to be a fair ruling based on common sense in the appeal and Kim’s other trials on separate charges.
 
A division of the Seoul Central District Court found Kim not guilty of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (stock manipulation) and the Political Funds Act (receiving free opinion polls) in Kim’s first trial.
 
The court reasoned that Kim merely received the results of opinion polls conducted independently by Myung, clearing Kim of guilt by noting there were no contracts or explicit orders related to the polls themselves. How can anyone expect these under-the-table transactions to leave behind contracts, and how can the lack of a contract be the reason a court finds someone not guilty?
 
The court stated that the nomination of Kim Young-sun for the National Assembly seat she later won was a result of debate among the members of the People Power Party’s nomination committee, not in exchange for providing opinion polls. 

The ruling flies in the face of mountains of evidence, including a voice recording of Myung in which he says, “Kim Young-sun’s nomination was a ‘gift’ from the first lady.” We can only conclude that the court was determined to let Kim slide on that count. 
 
The same can be said for the Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation charges. The court cited a “lack of sufficient evidence” to prove that Kim “contacted the actors manipulating prices to trade stocks.” 

What are we supposed to make of the hundreds of recordings of Kim speaking with a stockbroker employee, as well as the seven-second wash sales text? One recording reveals Kim stating, “I handed my account over to Blackpearl Invest, and I’m supposed to give them 40% of the profit.” 

The court acknowledged, “The possibility exists that the defendant, even if only inadvertently, recognized and acquiesced to the fact that her funds could be used for stock manipulation,” but went on to clear her name. It is difficult to understand why, in this instance, the special counsel did not apply the charge of aiding and abetting.
 
In conclusion, the only charges Kim was found guilty of in the first trial were related to receiving bribes from the Unification Church: a Chanel handbag and a Graff necklace. The sentence, considering Kim’s status as the spouse of a former president, is disproportionately low.
 
This can also be attributed to the fact that the special counsel indicted Kim on only the bare minimum of charges. Investigations have not been conducted regarding additional allegations raised in connection with the Myung scandal, such as involvement in the nomination of lawmakers or local government heads, or Kim’s reported abuse of power in moving forward with the Changwon National Industrial Complex project.
 
Other allegations, which include involvement in the alteration to the course of a planned expressway between Seoul and Yangpyeong, and manipulation of Sambu Construction stock prices, are yet to be scrutinized. This is why the comprehensive special counsel probe should waste no time in launching its investigation. 

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