The Supreme Court is set to deliver its final rulings on July 16 regarding allegations against Kim Keon-hee, including stock manipulation involving Deutsch Motors and the acceptance of illicit gifts from the Unification Church.

The Supreme Court will also issue its ruling on the same day for People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, who was indicted on charges of receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church.

The Supreme Court's Second Division announced today (July 10) that it has scheduled the final sentencing for Kim's charges—which include violations of the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (mediation bribery)—and Kweon's charges of violating the Political Funds Act for 10:15 a.m. on July 16.

The presiding justices for the cases are Park Young-jae (22nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute) and Eom Sang-pil (23rd class), respectively.

The sentencing date for Kim was set one week from now, just one day after her spouse, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, had his seven-year prison sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court's Third Division (presiding Justice Lee Sook-yeon) for charges including obstruction of arrest by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).

This marks the first Supreme Court judgment on Kim Keon-hee, who has been put on trial over various allegations, and comes 79 days after the appellate court's ruling.

Kim is accused of receiving a Graff diamond necklace worth 62 million won and two Chanel bags worth a total of 20 million won from Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church's world headquarters, between April and July 2022 in exchange for requests to support the religious group.

The special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki believes that these gifts were delivered to Kim through a figure known as Geonjin Beopsa (a shaman), Jeon Seong-bae.

Kim is also accused of participating in Deutsch Motors stock manipulation between October 2010 and December 2012, gaining 810 million won in unfair profits, and conspiring with former President Yoon Suk Yeol to receive public opinion poll results worth 270 million won from Myung Tae-kyun between June 2021 and March 2022.

In April, the appellate court sentenced Kim to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won.

The court also ordered the confiscation of one Graff necklace worth 62.2 million won and the collection of 20.94 million won in additional fines.

While the appellate sentence was more than double that of the first trial (one year and eight months in prison), it fell significantly short of the special prosecutor's demand for a 15-year prison term.

The appellate court overturned the first trial's acquittal regarding the violation of the Capital Markets Act, finding her partially guilty.

The court determined that Kim's act of providing a securities account containing 2 billion won to Black Pearl Invest between October and November 2010 to trade Deutsch Motors stock, and selling 180,000 shares during that period, constituted participation in market manipulation.

The charge of mediation bribery, which was partially upheld in the first trial, was also found entirely guilty.

The appellate court concluded that Kim had accepted two Chanel bags, a Graff necklace, and concentrated ginseng tea from the Unification Church in exchange for requests to support the church.

However, the court upheld the first trial's acquittal regarding the violation of the Political Funds Act, which alleged that the couple, Yoon and Kim, received free public opinion polls from Myung Tae-kyun in exchange for the nomination of former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun.

Both the special prosecutor team and Kim's legal team appealed the appellate court's decision, leading to the Supreme Court's review.

Lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong was indicted on charges of receiving 100 million won from former Unification Church official Yoon Young-ho on January 5, 2022, ahead of the 20th presidential election, in exchange for requests such as government support for the church.

The first and second trials found him guilty, sentencing him to two years in prison and ordering the collection of 100 million won.

If this ruling is confirmed, Kweon will lose his parliamentary seat in accordance with the National Assembly Act and the Public Official Election Act.

Although Kweon claimed he had met with Yoon but did not receive any money, the courts in the first and second trials determined that the charges were proven based on evidence submitted by the special prosecutor team.

Kweon's claims that the case was not subject to the special counsel act for Kim Keon-hee and that key evidence was collected and used illegally were also rejected in both trials.

Jeon Seong-bae, the shaman indicted for conspiring with Kim Keon-hee to receive gifts from the Unification Church, and Yoon Young-ho, who provided the gifts, had their respective sentences of five years and one year and six months in prison confirmed by the Supreme Court yesterday.

Yoon's conviction for providing illegal political funds to Kweon was also finalized.

This increases the likelihood that the appellate court's guilty verdicts for both Kim and Kweon will be upheld in their respective Supreme Court appeals.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will also issue rulings on the same day for Kim Ye-seong, known as Kim Keon-hee's butler, and Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest and a close associate of Kim.

Kim Ye-seong was indicted by the special prosecutor team on charges of embezzling company funds (embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes) and was found partially not guilty and had some charges dismissed in both the first and second trials.

Lee was sentenced to one year and two months in prison by the appellate court on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, for deceiving Lee Jeong-pil—known as the primary stock manipulator in the Deutsch Motors case—by promising to help him receive a suspended sentence instead of prison time.