Kim Ki-hyun Acquitted in First Trial Over Luxury Handbag Bribery Case

Rep. Kim Ki-hyun of the People Power Party, who was indicted on charges of giving a luxury handbag to First Lady Kim Keon-hee, was acquitted in the first trial on the 30th. The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) found Rep. Kim not guilty of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Prevention Act and related charges. In the same trial, Kim's wife, identified only as Ms. Lee, was found guilty and fined 5 million won.

Rep. Kim and Ms. Lee were charged with giving the First Lady a Roger Vivier clutch bag worth about 2.67 million won in exchange for her support in his 2023 election as People Power Party chairman. The special prosecution team led by Min Joong-ki indicted the couple on December 27 last year.

In its ruling, the court stated, "While it is possible to infer several scenarios and possibilities in which Kim Ki-hyun may have been involved in delivering the clutch bag to Kim Keon-hee, there is no objective evidence directly confirming his involvement in the delivery." It added, "In the absence of objective circumstances or evidence, it is difficult to render a guilty verdict in a criminal trial on the assumption that the couple acted together merely because of their marital relationship." During the trial, the First Lady testified as a witness that she accepted the bag but said she could not recall the specific date or circumstances of the delivery.

After the sentencing hearing, Rep. Kim told reporters, "I believe the court made a wise judgment based on the evidence and legal principles," adding, "I am grateful to the court for issuing the acquittal." He emphasized, "This was something done by the spouse of the party chairman, after I was elected party leader, as a courtesy to the spouse of the president," and stressed, "There was no reason to make an improper solicitation, and I never made one." He also criticized the Min Joong-ki special prosecution team, saying, "The special prosecutor filed an absurd indictment."

Jeon Eun-su, the floor spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a written briefing on the 30th that the verdict was "difficult to accept as a matter of public common sense" and urged the special prosecutor to file an immediate appeal.