Kim Hyekyung Receives Supreme Court Notice of Appeal in Election Law Case

Supreme Court Appeal Proceedings to Begin Soon
Accused of Providing Meal Worth 100,000 Won with Corporate Card

Kim Hyekyung, the wife of President Lee Jae Myung, has received litigation documents, including a notice of receipt of case records from the Supreme Court, regarding her violation of the Public Official Election Act.

Lee Jae Myung's wife Kim Hyekyung is applauding at the 21st Presidential Inauguration Oath Ceremony held at the National Assembly Rotunda on June 4, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

According to the legal community on July 11, Kim received the Supreme Court's notice of receipt of case records through her attorney on July 8. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the appellant or their attorney must submit a statement of grounds for appeal within 20 days of receiving the notice of receipt of case records.

The prosecution may submit a written response within 10 days of receiving the statement of grounds for appeal. Afterward, the Supreme Court will begin a full review of the case.

Previously, on May 30, the Supreme Court also sent Kim a notice of receipt of case records and a notice regarding the appointment of a court-appointed attorney, but the documents were not delivered due to the absence of the recipient and the door being closed.

Subsequently, on July 1, attorneys Kim Chiljun and Kwon Yong from Dasan Law Firm submitted a letter of attorney appointment and also filed a notification of delivery address and recipient. Attorney Kim also represented Kim Hyekyung in both the first and second trials.

Kim was indicted without detention in February last year on charges of providing a meal worth 104,000 won using a Gyeonggi Province corporate card to a total of six people, including the spouses of three current and former Democratic Party lawmakers, her driver, and an aide, at a restaurant in Seoul on August 2, 2021, when President Lee was the governor of Gyeonggi Province.

In the first trial held in November last year, Kim was fined 1.5 million won, and in the second trial in May, both Kim's and the prosecutor's appeals were dismissed, upholding the first trial's verdict. Kim appealed the second trial's decision, and the case is now before the Supreme Court.