[Edaily Reporter BAEK JU-A ] The appellate court ruling for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in the first trial on charges of so-called “bribery for public office”—accepting various monetary and material benefits in exchange for favors—is expected this week.

According to legal circles on the 20th, the 15-3 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Seong Eon-ju, WonIk, and Lee Hee-jun) will hold the sentencing hearing for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee’s appeal on the 22nd regarding charges of brokerage corruption under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Ms. Kim is accused of receiving gifts worth 103.8 million won—including a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and earrings—from Lee Bong-gwan, chairman of SEOHEE CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.(035890), between March and May 2022. She allegedly accepted these gifts in exchange for business favors and to facilitate a personnel request on behalf of her eldest son-in-law, Park Seong-geun, former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister.

She is also accused of receiving a gold tortoise and a “Sehan-do” painting worth 2.65 million won from former National Education Commission Chairman Lee Bae-yong around April and June of the same year, as well as a Vacheron Constantin wristwatch worth 39.9 million won from Mr. Seo Seong-bin under the pretext of assistance with a robotic dog business.

In addition, she is accused of receiving gifts worth 5.4 million won—including a Dior handbag—from Pastor Choi Jae-young between June and September 2022 in exchange for favors related to her official duties as a public official, as well as a painting by artist Lee U-hwan worth 140 million won from former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim around February 2023 in exchange for a request regarding a political nomination.

The trial court found Mrs. Kim guilty on all charges and sentenced her to seven years in prison. It also ordered the forfeiture of one confiscated painting by artist Lee U-fan, a Vacheron Constantin watch box, a gold turtle-shaped jewelry box, a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, a Tiffany brooch, and a Dior pouch, as well as the recovery of 64.8 million won.

Mrs. Kim appealed the first-instance verdict, while the special prosecution team led by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki—which had sought a sentence of 7 years and 6 months—did not file an appeal. On the 9th, the special prosecution team requested that Mrs. Kim’s appeal be dismissed and sought the original sentence of 7 years in prison.

In her closing statement at the appellate trial, Mrs. Kim said, “I should have been more cautious, but I cannot admit to something I did not do.”

◇Charges of Insurrection… Special Prosecutor Seeks 30 Years in Prison Each for Yeo In-hyeong and Lee Jin-woo

On the 21st, Criminal Division 26 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-kyung) will hold a sentencing hearing for former Defense Counterintelligence Agency Commander Yeo In-hyeong, former Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo, and others on charges including participation in major acts of insurrection.

First-instance verdicts for former Army Chief of Staff Park An-su (Commander of the State of Emergency), former Special Forces Commander Kwak Jong-geun, and former Military Intelligence Service Commander Moon Sang-ho will also be handed down on this day.

Former Chief of Staff Park is accused of abusing his authority by playing a central role in the insurrection—specifically, by issuing Proclamation No. 1 as Commander of the State of Emergency immediately after the declaration of a state of emergency and ordering the takeover of the National Assembly and the deployment of troops.

Former Commander Yeo was indicted on charges of abusing his authority and giving false testimony in court for playing a key role in the insurrection—including conspiring with former President Yoon in advance to declare a state of emergency, ordering the seizure of National Election Commission servers, and directing the arrest of key politicians.

Former Commander Lee is accused of devising specific operational plans to enter and seal off the National Assembly both before and after the declaration of martial law, and of attempting to paralyze the Assembly’s functions by actually deploying troops to forcibly remove lawmakers.

Former Commander Kwak is charged with participating in a riot aimed at subverting the constitution by, acting on former Minister Kim’s orders, deploying Special Forces troops by helicopter to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission to occupy the facilities, and ordering them to carry live ammunition and deploy armed.

Former Commander Moon is accused of compiling and leaking a list of personnel assigned to enforce martial law in advance, and of carrying out insurrectionary tasks—such as mobilizing Agency for Military Intelligence personnel to occupy and shut down the National Election Commission’s server room immediately after the declaration of martial law—as well as leaking military secrets.

At the sentencing hearing on July 24, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Insurrection (led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok) sought 30-year prison terms for former Commanders Yeo and Lee, respectively.

The team requested that the court sentence former Director General Park to 25 years in prison, former Commander Kwak to 20 years, and former Commander Moon to 20 years.

◇ Found Guilty on All First-Instance Charges in “Lobbying for Clemency” Case; Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months in Prison

On the 22nd, the 2-3rd Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (High Court Judges Kim Young-hyun, Baek Seung-yeop, and Hwang Seung-tae) held the sentencing hearing for the appeal of former 1st Marine Division Commander Im Seong-geun on charges of violating the National Assembly Testimony and Expert Opinion Act (perjury).

Former Division Commander Im is suspected of attempting to “lobby for leniency” through Lee Jong-ho, the former CEO of Black Pearl Invest, in connection with the line-of-duty death of a Marine.

Former CEO Lee, known as the account manager for First Lady Kim Keon-hee, is reported to have told Song Ho-jong, a former employee of the Presidential Security Service, after being asked to intervene on behalf of former Division Commander Im, “I’ll speak to the VIP, so don’t resign.”

In response, former Brigadier General Lim appeared before the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee last October and refuted the allegations, stating, “I have never met former CEO Lee.”

Allegations of perjury were also raised against former Brigadier General Im, who testified at the Legislative and Judicial Affairs Committee hearing that he had not invited Mr. Song and others to the Marine Corps training exercise known as “Operation Ssangyong,” even though he had, and claimed he did not know the password to his own cell phone despite actually knowing it.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office for Marines Killed in the Line of Duty (Special Prosecutor Lee Myung-hyun) determined that the testimony was false and referred former Brigadier General Lim to trial.

The trial court found former Division Commander Lim guilty on all counts and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison. Former Division Commander Lim appealed the first-instance verdict.

On the 8th, the Special Prosecutor’s Office sought a three-year prison sentence for former Division Commander Lim. This is the same sentence sought during the first-instance trial.