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Asia Pacific|‘The Man’ of Her Household: The Rise and Fall of a First Lady
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/world/asia/korea-first-lady-kim-keon-hee-jail.html
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Kim Keon Hee is the first former presidential spouse in South Korea to be convicted on a criminal charge. Her downfall began after her husband declared martial law.
Jan. 28, 2026Updated 7:23 a.m. ET
From the first days of her husband’s presidency, Kim Keon Hee was unlike other South Korean first ladies, who stayed in their partners’ shadows.
Her high profile — and her comments like she was “the man” of her household — rattled the country’s patriarchal society. A prominent dog lover, she accomplished what animal rights groups had tried but could not for decades: make South Korea ban dog meat for food. At the same time, she was prone to scandals and was accused of overstepping her role, leading to many misogynistic attacks against her.
Now, Ms. Kim, 53, who tried to style herself after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is the country’s first former first lady to be imprisoned.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel in Seoul found her guilty of accepting a $43,000 necklace, plus a Chanel handbag, from the Unification Church, which prosecutors said sought government favors in return. Ms. Kim was sentenced to 20 months in prison, in the first ruling for the three criminal trials she is facing.
“The accused wrongfully used her status as a profit-making tool,” said the presiding judge, Woo In-sung. “She failed to reject the expensive luxury goods but instead used them to decorate herself.”
Her downfall came alongside that of her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, after he attempted to declare martial law in late 2024. He was driven, special prosecutors have said, in part by his desperate attempt to shield her, as well as himself, from criminal investigations.
