Supreme Court Grand Bench to hold second hearing in Kim Keon Hee case on 22nd; detention deadline 15 days away

[Financial News] The Supreme Court Grand Bench will hold a second hearing in Kim Keon Hee’s final appeal on the 22nd. With her detention period set to expire on the 31st of this month, the key question is whether the court will reach a decision that day and whether she can remain in detention through sentencing. The issue is whether the free opinion polls provided by Myung Tae-kyun, which both lower courts found did not constitute an offense, can be considered political contributions.
According to legal circles on the 15th, the Supreme Court Grand Bench, with Justice Park Young-jae assigned to the case, will hold a continuation hearing on the 22nd in Kim’s final appeal on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act and the Political Funds Act, and of receiving bribes through mediation under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. This will be the second hearing, following the first Grand Bench hearing on the 29th of last month.
The case, which had been handled by the Supreme Court’s Second Division, has seen its ruling repeatedly postponed. The ruling, scheduled for July 16, was rescheduled to the 24th of the same month, and the case was referred to the Grand Bench a day before the ruling was due. This followed former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was indicted on the same charges, being found guilty on July 13 by Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-gwan), and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also being found guilty at trial on July 22 by Criminal Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo).
The issue is whether conducting opinion polls or providing their results constitutes a political contribution prohibited by the Political Funds Act. Former President Yoon and his wife were each indicted on suspicion of receiving 58 opinion polls worth 270 million won from Myung, free of charge, between June 2021 and March 2022.
Kim was found not guilty on this charge in both the first and second trials. On January 28, the first-instance court, Criminal Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong), found her guilty only of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church among the three charges and sentenced her to one year and eight months in prison. On April 28, the appellate court, Criminal Division 15-2 of the Seoul High Court (High Court Judges Shin Jong-o, Sung Eon-ju, and Won Ik-seon), overturned the first-instance acquittal on the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation charge, found her guilty, and sentenced her to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won.
A variable is the appeal by former President Yoon. On the 7th, Criminal Division 7 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Koo Hoe-geun) overturned the first-instance ruling and acquitted him. The court’s reasoning was that a political contribution requires a material benefit, whereas what was exchanged was only political assistance that is difficult to quantify as a material benefit. Kim’s side submitted a brief to the Supreme Court asking it to take this ruling into consideration. The key question is whether the legal reasoning accepted by the lower courts will also be upheld by the Supreme Court.
Kim’s detention period expires on the 31st of this month. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, detention lasts two months at each court level and can be renewed; at the final-appeal stage, it can be renewed up to three times, for a maximum of eight months. If the court reaches a decision at the hearing on the 22nd, she could remain in detention through sentencing. However, some observers say a ruling this month is unlikely, given that the Grand Bench typically issues rulings about once a month.
If sentencing is delayed, Special Counsel Min Joung-kie plans to seek an additional arrest warrant in the case involving allegations of buying and selling public offices. The case is being heard by the Supreme Court’s Second Division. If the warrant is not issued, Kim will be released when her detention period expires and will face the remainder of her trial without being detained.

[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter