Special Prosecutor Appeals Second Trial Verdict for Kim Gun-hee on "Selling Public Offices" Charges: "Factual Misunderstanding and Misinterpretation of Law"

Special Prosecutor to Contest Acquittals in Supreme Court Appeal

The special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki has appealed the appellate court’s five-year prison sentence for First Lady Kim Gun-hee, who was convicted on charges of “selling public offices.”

Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, head of the special prosecution team investigating the state manipulation and illegal election interference cases related to Kim Gun-hee, Myung Tae-kyun, and Geon Jin-beopsa, is entering the briefing room of the special prosecution team set up at the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 29th to announce the results of the special investigation. 2025.12.29 Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

On the 28th, the special prosecutor team announced it had filed an appeal with the 15-3rd Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Sung Eon-joo, Won Ik-sun, and Lee Hee-jun) on the grounds of factual misunderstanding and misinterpretation of law.

On the 22nd, the appellate court sentenced Kim to five years in prison, a reduction from the seven-year sentence handed down in the first trial.

The appellate court acquitted Kim of some charges, stating that there was insufficient evidence to prove she had received bribes in exchange for favors. However, the court upheld the lower court’s guilty verdict on other charges, including allegations she accepted a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace from Chairman Lee Bonggwan in connection with a request for a key personnel appointment for his eldest son-in-law.

The special prosecutor team is expected to focus on contesting the charges for which Kim was acquitted in the appellate trial during the appeal to the Supreme Court.

On the day following the sentencing, on the 23rd, Kim Gun-hee’s legal team also filed an appeal with the court.

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