South Korea Court Raises Kim Keon Hee's Sentence to 4 Years

SEOUL, South Korea -- A South Korean appeals court on Tuesday increased the prison sentence for former first lady Kim Keon Hee to four years on corruption charges, convicting her of bribery and stock manipulation two months after her husband, ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, received a life term for rebellion.

The Seoul High Court raised the penalty from the 20 months imposed by a district court in January, when Kim was convicted of accepting a Graff diamond necklace and one Chanel handbag from the Unification Church in exchange for promises of political favors. That lower court had acquitted her of involvement in manipulating shares of Deutsch Motors, a local car dealer, before she became first lady. Prosecutors and Kim both appealed.

In its ruling, the appeals court found Kim guilty of the stock manipulation, deeming her a direct participant by entrusting funds and accounts worth about 2 billion won to an investment firm that engaged in collusive trading, yielding her illicit profits of around 810 million won between 2010 and 2012. It also convicted her of accepting a second Chanel bag from the church, along with ginseng tea, ruling all items as bribes given with expectations...