Kim Keon-hee Fined 3 Million Won, Bench Warrant Issued After Failing to Appear as Witness in Kim Gi-hyeon Couple's Trial

Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, has been fined and issued a bench warrant after failing to appear as a witness in the trial of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon and his wife, who are charged with gifting her a Roger Vivier bag worth approximately 2.6 million won.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 22 (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) imposed a fine of 3 million won on Kim Keon-hee and issued a bench warrant today (July 13) as a sanction for her non-appearance during the continued trial of lawmaker Kim and his wife, Lee, on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Although a witness examination for Kim Keon-hee was scheduled for today, she did not appear in court, having submitted a written statement stating that she would not attend due to poor health and her intention to exercise her right to refuse to testify.

The court decided to reschedule the witness examination for Kim Keon-hee to a later date.

Lawmaker Kim and his wife are accused of providing a Roger Vivier clutch bag to Kim Keon-hee on March 17, 2023, in return for mobilizing Unification Church members to support him in the party leadership election held on March 8, 2023.

Investigations revealed that the lawmaker's wife delivered the bag, and the payment was deducted from the lawmaker's parliamentary salary account.

The special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki applied charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, viewing the gift as being related to the president's official duties.

Lawmaker Kim has acknowledged that his wife gifted the bag but has maintained that there was no improper solicitation and that it was a gesture of social courtesy.

The couple's legal team has also argued that the process by which the special prosecutor team seized the Roger Vivier clutch bag from Kim Keon-hee's residence was unlawful.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.