South Korea's former first lady sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The wife of South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 months in prison for corruption, as her husband awaits a verdict on a high-stakes rebellion charge that could result in the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim Keon Hee for receiving luxury gifts like a Graff diamond necklace and a Chanel bag from the Unification Church in return for promises of political favors.

“Being closest to a president, a first lady can exert significant influence on him and is a symbolic figure who represents the country together with a president,” the court said in a televised verdict. “But the defendant exploited her position to seek personal gains.”

Kim said via her lawyers that she would “humbly accept” the court’s view and “apologizes again to everyone for causing concerns.”

The presidential couple, who have been jailed separately for months, suffered a spectacular fall from grace after Yoon’s martial law debacle in December 2024 led to his impeachment and eventually his removal from office. Yoon was handed a five-year prison term this month for defying authorities’ attempts to detain him and other charges related to the martial law decree.

Investigators say Kim was not involved in Yoon's martial law enforcement.

The 20-month sentence imposed on Kim was a surprise after independent counsel Min Joong-ki called for a 15-year prison term on three charges, including stock price manipulation, political funding law violations and accepting bribes. The court acquitted Kim of two other charges, citing a lack of evidence and other reasons.

Min's team responded that it cannot accept the ruling and will appeal to a higher court. The governing liberal Democratic Party, which led Yoon's ouster, criticized the verdict as sending a wrong signal that “abuse of power like Kim Keon Hee's can be tolerated.”

Kim’s lawyer Choi Ji-woo said Min’s investigation was politically driven. He said Kim's defense team thanked the court for its verdict but said the 20-month prison term was “relatively high.”

He said his team will discuss whether to appeal.

Kim has been in jail since August when the Seoul court approved a warrant to arrest her, citing the chance she might destroy evidence.

When Yoon was in office, Kim was embroiled in a series of scandals that severely hurt the conservative leader's approval rating and provided relentless political ammunition to his rivals. The scandals included the three charges the court dealt with on Wednesday.

Many observers speculated Yoon opted to place the country under a military rule to protect his wife from possible investigations. But after a six-month probe into Yoon’s decree, investigators led by another independent counsel, Cho Eun-suk, in December downplayed conjecture that Kim’s troubles drove Yoon to declare martial law.

Yoon plotted for over a year to declare martial law so he could eliminate his political opponents and monopolize power and there was also no evidence of Kim's involvement, Cho’s team said.

The ruling against Kim was made about three weeks before the court delivers its verdict on a rebellion charge against Yoon. Cho's team has demanded the death sentence for Yoon by viewing his martial law imposition as a rebellion.

A rebellion conviction carries the death penalty or life imprisonment. But a court could immediately commute the sentence. Experts say the court likely will sentence him to life or a lengthy imprisonment because South Korea has maintained a de-facto moratorium on executions since late 1997.

After a near-constant collision course with his liberal rivals, Yoon abruptly declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, vowing to eliminate “anti-state forces” and “shameless North Korea sympathizers.” He has defended his action, calling it a desperate attempt to draw public support for his fight against the Democratic Party which obstructed his agenda.

Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly. But many failed to aggressively cordon off the area as thousands of people gathered, calling for Yoon’s ouster. Lawmakers, including some from Yoon's own ruling party, entered an assembly hall and voted down his decree.

Yoon was later impeached by the National Assembly, arrested by prosecutors and formally thrown out of office after a Constitutional Court ruling.

This story corrects the former first lady's name.

FILE - Kim Keon Hee, center, the wife of South Korea's ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at the special prosecutor's office in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - Kim Keon Hee, the wife of South Korea's jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives for her first trial hearing on corruption charges at a courtroom of the Seoul Central District Court on Sept. 24, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea.(Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP, File)

A TV screen shows a file footage of Kim Keon Hee, the wife of South Korea's former President Yoon Suk Yeol during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A TV screen shows a live footage of Kim Keon Hee, the wife of South Korea's former President Yoon Suk Yeol, second from right, wearing a mask, during a news program, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

FILE - South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee, wife of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review her arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors, in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 12, 2025. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities in Indonesia’s South Sumatra, the province with the highest number of wildfire hot spots, turned to spiritual measures on Tuesday as huge blazes in central and western regions scorched wide areas of forests and peatland, creating a choking haze that blanketed some cities in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

The prayer gathering initiative comes as the province faces prolonged dry weather that has heightened the risk of forest and peatland fires.

The latest satellite data from the Environment Ministry showed South Sumatra recorded the highest number of hot spots nationwide with 1,429, followed by West Kalimantan with 1,226 and Central Kalimantan with 811. Forestry Ministry data indicated that nearly 940 square kilometers (363 square miles) were burned in July alone, including over 20 square kilometers (8 square miles) in South Sumatra province.

About 3,000 residents gathered in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province, to perform a special Islamic prayer for rain, known as “salat istisqa.” They prayed shoulder to shoulder in the courtyard of the governor’s office as thick smoke shrouded roads, buildings and public facilities, reducing visibility and forcing motorists to drive with their headlights on during the day.

“We have done everything we can and worked closely with all relevant parties,” South Sumatra Gov. Herman Deru said before the prayer. “As people of faith, we are also praying to God to send rain so that life can return to normal.”

He also said the public prayer would complement ongoing firefighting and drought-mitigation measures and serve as a moment for residents to unite in confronting the environmental challenges facing the province.

Emergency services have been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia and Brunei, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

Indonesia is actively intensifying weather-modification operations to help firefighters combat wildfires by inducing rainfall through the dispersal of salt particles into suitable clouds, with 30 aircraft for cloud-seeding and water-bombing operations over Kalimantan, and another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra.

Indonesian police have arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the forest and peatland fires, while four companies are under investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land at low cost.

Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming, triggering hazardous haze that reduces visibility, disrupts land and air transportation and threatens public health.

Fires are a regular problem during the dry season in Indonesia, and the haze they generate has periodically drawn diplomatic complaints from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

A tug boat cruises on Musi River as haze from wildfires blankets the city of Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Hatta)

A man stands among houses as haze from wildfires blankets the city of Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Hatta)

Indonesian Muslims perform a prayer requesting for rain following wildfires that burn through peatlands in several regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan Island, in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

A woman prays during a prayer requesting for rain following wildfires that burn through peatlands in several regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan Island, in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

In this photo released by Jambi Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Jambi), a helicopter conducts a water bombing to extinguish wildfire burning through a peatland field in Danau Lamo, Jambi province, Indonesia, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (BPBD Jambi via AP)

Indonesian Muslims attend a prayer requesting for rain following wildfires that burn through peatlands in several regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan Island, in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

People walk along the Ampera Bridge as haze from wildfires blankets the city of Palembang, in South Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

A man is silhouetted against the haze from wildfires that blankets Musi River in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

A volunteer sprays water in an attempt to extinguish a wildfire burning through a peatland field in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Hatta)

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire burning through a peatland field in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Hatta)