‘A Decisive Week’ for Kim Keon Hee: Verdict on the 28th... Wirye New Town and the ‘50 Billion Won Club’ Cases Also Due This Week

According to Financial News, this week (August 26–30) the court will deliver a first-instance verdict on First Lady Kim Keon Hee over charges related to alleged stock manipulation and illicit payments from the Unification Church. It will be the first court ruling in a case involving Kim that was investigated by the Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor Team. A verdict is also scheduled the same day for People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, who faces allegations of collusion with the Unification Church, and for former Unification Church World Headquarters chief Yoon Young-ho, who was indicted for providing money and political funds. In addition, first-instance rulings are expected this week in the Daejang-dong development corruption case’s “twin” Wirye New Town preferential treatment case and in the so-called “50 Billion Won Club” case.
The legal community said on the 25th that Criminal Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Insung Woo, will hold a sentencing hearing at 2:10 p.m. on the 28th for Kim’s first-instance trial on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act and the Political Funds Act, as well as bribery in connection with brokerage.
At the closing arguments on the 3rd of last month, the Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor Team, led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, asked the court to sentence Kim to a total of 15 years in prison, a fine of 2 billion won, and forfeiture of about 950 million won. The team argued for a heavy sentence, saying, “Kim Keon Hee existed outside the law and stood above the law.” Kim’s side, however, has denied most of the charges and is claiming she is not guilty.
Kim was indicted and taken into custody last August on charges that she colluded with former Deutsch Motors chairman Kwon Oh-soo and others to engage in stock manipulation between 2010 and 2012, gaining about 810 million won in illicit profits. She is also accused of conspiring with Yoon Suk Yeol, before he became president, to receive opinion polls worth a total of about 270 million won free of charge from political broker Myung Tae-kyun up until the 2022 presidential election. In addition, she is charged with receiving valuables, including a Chanel bag worth about 80 million won, along with various requests for favors, from a Unification Church figure between April and July 2022 through shamanic figure Geonjin Beopsa (Jeon Seong-bae).
The special counsel team contends that Kim knew the trades executed through accounts in her own name by the stock-manipulation ring were aimed at boosting Deutsch Motors’ share price. They also argue that she intervened in the nomination of former People Power Party lawmaker Yeongseon Kim in return for the free opinion polling, and that multiple requests from the Unification Church were conveyed to her and can be proven by evidence. Kim’s side denies any conspiracy in the stock manipulation and maintains that there was no situation in which polling costs would be billed. While she has acknowledged receiving the Chanel bag, she denies having received a Graff necklace.
The same panel of judges will also deliver a first-instance verdict at 4 p.m. that day for lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, who was indicted on charges of receiving 100 million won from the Unification Church side. The special counsel team has requested a four-year prison term and forfeiture of 100 million won for Kweon. The prosecutors argued that he “provided a channel for a religious organization to exert influence over politics,” while Kweon’s side countered that he had “no personal relationship of trust with former headquarters chief Yoon,” disputing the credibility of the testimony. At 3 p.m. the same day, the court will also hand down a verdict for former headquarters chief Yoon, who is accused of providing the money.
Also on the 28th, the court will issue a first-instance ruling in the Wirye New Town development preferential treatment case. Judge Lee Chun-geun of the Seoul Central District Court will sentence former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (SDC) planning director Dong-gyu Yu and other defendants on charges of violating the Anti-Corruption Act. Prosecutors have sought prison terms for all of them, arguing that they gave preferential treatment by adjusting evaluation criteria during the selection of private project operators.
The first-instance verdict in the case against former People Power Party lawmaker Gwak Sang-do and his son, who are charged with concealing criminal proceeds in connection with the Daejang-dong 50 Billion Won Club allegations, is scheduled for the 30th. Prosecutors claim that bribes were concealed in the form of “performance bonuses,” and have additionally indicted Gwak, his son, and Kim Man-bae, asking the court to impose prison sentences on all of them.

scottchoi15@fnnews.com Reporter Choi Eun-sol Reporter