(LEAD) Special counsel seeks 15-yr jail term for ex-first lady in corruption appeals trial | Yonhap News Agency

## Summary
OK (ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with hearing details) By Chae Yun-hwan SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Wednesday demanded a 15-year prison term for former first lady Kim Keon Hee in her appeals trial on multiple charges, including accepting luxury goods from the Unification Church. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team made the request during the final hearing of her appellate trial at the Seoul High Court, matching its earlier sentencing recommendation at a lower court, which handed down a far shorter 20-month term. Both Kim and Min's team appealed the ruling. yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr (END) Related Articles (3rd LD) Ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee sentenced to 20 months in prison in corruption trial Special counsel accuses ex-first lady of accepting additional luxury items (2nd LD) Ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee appeals 20-month prison sentence in corruption trial Keywords #ex-first lady #corruption trial Articles with issue keywords Most Liked (LEAD) BTS tops Billboard albums chart for 2nd week with 'Arirang,' a first in K-pop BTS to drop 'Come Over,' exclusive new track on 'Arirang' LP 'Beef' Season 2 deepens Korean narrative, casts A-listers Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho Lee voices hope for peace in Easter message (2nd LD) Trump claims Iran's president has asked for ceasefire; Iran denies it Most Saved 'Beef' Season 2 deepens Korean narrative, casts A-listers Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho (3rd LD) Lee says S. Korean actress IU Nobel chemistry laureate in Seoul prev (LEAD) Special counsel seeks 15-yr jail term for ex-first lady in corruption appeals trial Next (LEAD) Special counsel seeks 15-yr jail term for ex-first lady in corruption appeals trial

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(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with hearing details)
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Wednesday demanded a 15-year prison term for former first lady Kim Keon Hee in her appeals trial on multiple charges, including accepting luxury goods from the Unification Church.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team made the request during the final hearing of her appellate trial at the Seoul High Court, matching its earlier sentencing recommendation at a lower court, which handed down a far shorter 20-month term.
Kim is accused of receiving luxury items along with favors from the church, involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and violating a political funds law for accepting free opinion polls with her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
"Considering the big impact on society and the values undermined from the crime the defendant committed, the (earlier) sentence is much too light," Min's team said at the hearing.
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee (2nd from R) speaks to her lawyer during her trial at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 3, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
In January, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Kim of accepting a Chanel bag and a Graff diamond necklace, along with business favors from the Unification Church in 2022.
The court, however, acquitted her of involvement in the stock price manipulation scheme between 2010 and 2012 and violating the Political Funds Act for accepting the opinion polls from a self-proclaimed power broker ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
While the court recognized that Kim may have been aware of the stock price manipulation, it said that she could not be seen as an accomplice. It also determined that Kim and her husband could not have financially benefited from the opinion polls.
Both Kim and Min's team appealed the ruling.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
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(LEAD) Special counsel seeks 15-yr jail term for ex-first lady in corruption appeals trial

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
- Both Kim and Min's team appealed the ruling. yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr (END) Related Articles (3rd LD) Ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee sentenced to 20 months in prison in corruption trial Special counsel accuses ex-first lady of accepting additional luxury items (2nd LD) Ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee appeals 20-month prison sentence in corruption trial Keywords #ex-first lady #corruption trial Articles with issue keywords Most Liked (LEAD) BTS tops Billboard albums chart for 2nd week with 'Arirang,' a first in K-pop BTS to drop 'Come Over,' exclusive new track on 'Arirang' LP 'Beef' Season 2 deepens Korean narrative, casts A-listers Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho Lee voices hope for peace in Easter message (2nd LD) Trump claims Iran's president has asked for ceasefire; Iran denies it Most Saved 'Beef' Season 2 deepens Korean narrative, casts A-listers Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho (3rd LD) Lee says S.

### Implications
- OK (ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with hearing details) By Chae Yun-hwan SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Wednesday demanded a 15-year prison term for former first lady Kim Keon Hee in her appeals trial on multiple charges, including accepting luxury goods from the Unification Church.
- Kim is accused of receiving luxury items along with favors from the church, involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and violating a political funds law for accepting free opinion polls with her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol. "Considering the big impact on society and the values undermined from the crime the defendant committed, the (earlier) sentence is much too light," Min's team said at the hearing.
- While the court recognized that Kim may have been aware of the stock price manipulation, it said that she could not be seen as an accomplice.
- It also determined that Kim and her husband could not have financially benefited from the opinion polls.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers kim, korea, lady topics. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 618.