Van Cleef, Gold Turtle, Vacheron... Court: "Gifts to Mrs. Kim Were for Solicitation of Influence"

"Not a Return Gift or Proxy Purchase"

Court Rejects Kim Keon-hee's Claims

Rules Presence of Quid Pro Quo

Mrs. Kim Geonhee wearing a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace.

The court has determined that luxury jewelry received by Mrs. Kim Keonhee from Lee Bonggwan, Chairman of Seohi Construction, and a gold turtle ornament received from Lee Bae-yong, former Chairperson of the National Education Commission, were both given for the purpose of solicitation and requests.

On June 26, the 21st Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Soonpyo) made this announcement at the sentencing hearing regarding Mrs. Kim’s case of receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

The court first found that the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, Tiffany brooch, and Graff earrings given by Chairman Lee to Mrs. Kim between March and April 2022 were all intended to leverage Mrs. Kim’s influence for resolving future corporate matters. In particular, the court cited that Chairman Lee requested a personnel appointment for his son-in-law when giving the brooch, stating, “These valuables were exchanged under the pretext of mediation in official duties, and the quid pro quo relationship is sufficiently recognized.”

Regarding the gift that Mrs. Kim received from former Chairperson Lee Bae-yong, the court stated, “The gold turtle ornament was presented during a meeting where a request was made for the appointment of the National Education Commission chairperson, and it is sufficiently recognized that Mrs. Kim understood the intent and the quid pro quo relationship.” While Mrs. Kim’s side argued that she had first given cosmetics to former Chairperson Lee and received the gold turtle as a return gift, the court stated, “There is no evidence for this claim.”

For the Vacheron Constantin watch valued at 39.9 million won, given by Seo Seongbin, Chairman of Dronedom, the court also stated, “Mr. Seo sought to utilize his acquaintance and influence with Mrs. Kim while promoting the presidential security service’s robot dog project at the time, and it is deemed that Mrs. Kim accepted the watch at least with tacit awareness of this.” Both Mrs. Kim and Mr. Seo argued that they had only made a proxy purchase, but the court determined, “It appears that Mrs. Kim did not request the purchase, but rather Mr. Seo bought it at his own expense.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.