Kim Hye-kyung Fined 1.5 Million Won in Appeal for Election Law Violation

Second Trial Delivers Same Sentence as First Trial

Kim Hye-kyung, the spouse of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is on trial for violating the Public Official Election Act, was sentenced to a fine of 1.5 million won in her appeal trial. This is the same sentence as in the first trial.

Yonhap News

On May 12, the Criminal Division 3 of the Suwon High Court (presiding judge Kim Jonggi) held a sentencing hearing for Kim's case of violating the Public Official Election Act (illegal donation) and handed down this verdict. Previously, the prosecution had argued that Kim's act of donation was clear and had requested a fine of 3 million won, the same as in the first trial.

Kim was indicted without detention on February 14 last year on charges of providing a meal worth 104,000 won using a Gyeonggi Province corporate card to six people at a restaurant in Seoul in August 2021, when Lee was the governor of Gyeonggi Province. The group included three spouses of current or former Democratic Party lawmakers, her driver, and an aide. She was sentenced to a fine in the first trial.

The first trial court viewed the provision of the meal as an act of donation that could benefit her spouse's election campaign. The court stated, "The meal gathering was an occasion where Mr. Shin introduced the spouses of former National Assembly Speakers, and the meal was made possible through Ms. Bae's payment, which constituted an act beneficial to the defendant."

At the sentencing hearing of the appeal held on April 14, Kim's attorney argued, "As stated in the original verdict, there is no direct evidence, and the only basis is the presumption that the defendant could not have been unaware that Ms. Bae paid with a corporate card. Even if it is assumed that the defendant knew about or permitted Ms. Bae's card payment, this is not a case that warrants a heavy sentence."

In her final statement, Kim said, "When I first learned about this, I was very surprised and angry," adding, "Going through the trial since last year, I have come to realize that my own lack of attention was also at fault."

Meanwhile, even if the prosecution or the defendant appeals the appellate court's ruling, it is unlikely that a final verdict will be reached before the presidential election on June 3, so there is not expected to be any impact on Kim's election campaign. Under the Public Official Election Act, if Kim receives a confirmed sentence of 1 million won or more, her eligibility to run for office will be revoked for five years, and she will be prohibited from engaging in election campaigning during that period.