He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, the property involved in the case was confiscated, and 24.4 million won (approximately RMB 120,000) was recovered. After the judge read out the verdict, Kim Gun-hee, the former first lady of South Korea, stood in the dock with her head lowered, and there was not much relief on her face that she had received a reduced sentence.
Compared with the first trial, Jin Jianxi’s sentence was reduced by two years, and the amount of recovery was also significantly reduced. Her defense team said that although it was “significant” that some of the charges were overturned in the second trial, it was still unacceptable for the court to maintain the guilty verdict on the remaining charges. The special prosecution team was also dissatisfied with the verdict and believed that the result was difficult to gain public recognition. Previously, the special prosecution team had requested the court to impose the same sentence as in the first instance.
On September 23, local time, the day after the second instance verdict was announced, Jin Jianxi formally filed an appeal. According to the provisions of the Special Prosecutor Act, in principle, the second and third trials must be concluded within three months. This case of “selling an official position and getting a title” involving approximately 297 million won (approximately RMB 1.46 million) in property is expected to be resolved before the end of this year.
South Korean people are paying attention to the case of Kim Jianxi “selling his official position and getting a title”. Data map/Visual China
Why reduce the sentence?
A Lee Ufan painting worth 140 million won (approximately RMB 690,000), jewelry worth a total of 103.8 million won (approximately RMB 510,000), a Vacheron Constantin watch, a Dior handbag, a golden tortoise and a replica of “Sui Han Tu”… After Yin Xiyue was elected president, Kim Jianxi accepted these gifts “without scruples”.
The special investigation team believes that these gifts are not ordinary gifts. The gift givers each have their own demands, and their demands involve public office appointments, government projects, and nominations from the ruling party. Kim Jianxi is suspected of using the influence of the president’s spouse to mediate and receive property.
In May this year, the special prosecution team asked the court to sentence Jin Jianxi to seven years and six months in prison, confiscate the property involved in the case, and recover more than 56.3 million won (approximately RMB 280,000) in illegal gains. A month later, the Seoul Central District Court found that all charges were established, sentenced her to seven years in prison, and recovered 64.8 million won (approximately RMB 320,000).
At the second trial, the judge made different judgments on the charges related to Vacheron Constantin watches and replicas of “Suihan Tu”.
The first instance held that businessman Xu Chengbin presented the famous brand watch in order to ask Jin Jianxi to promote the “robot dog” project of the Presidential Guard Office. The second instance pointed out that when the watch was delivered, the project partner had already been determined; the existing evidence could not prove that Jin Jianxi had exerted influence on the project, nor could it completely rule out the possibility that the watch was an “entrusted purchase agent”. The court ultimately changed the verdict.
The charges related to the copy of “Sui Han Tu” were also acquitted. The court of second instance held that it could not be ruled out that Lee Bae-yong, then chairman of the “Hanji Revival Foundation”, donated the replica to promote and publicize the Hanji project. However, the gold turtle worth 2.65 million won (approximately RMB 13,000) that she sent at the same time was found by the court to be related to seeking the position of chairman of the National Education Commission, and the relevant guilty verdict was therefore upheld.
Jin Jianxi apologized for her “lack of prudence” at the court hearing that concluded in early September, but still denied using the power of the president to make profits or buy and sell public office, and asked the court to proceed with caution so that she could keep her “remaining reputation.” At the end of the sentence, she choked up: “After my husband became president, I lost everything.”
When explaining the reasons for the sentencing, the court of second instance pointed out that Jin Jianxi had admitted some facts and reflected on her behavior, and that she had not taken the initiative to ask for property. Therefore, the court decided to give a lighter sentence as appropriate.
After the above two charges were overturned, Jin Jianxi’s sentence was reduced from 7 years to 5 years, and the amount of recovery was also reduced from 64.8 million won (approximately RMB 320,000) to 24.4 million won (approximately RMB 120,000).
Although the sentence was reduced, the court’s basic judgment on the nature of the case did not change. The verdict pointed out that Kim Jianxi knew that the gift giver was interested in her influence as the presidential spouse, but still “forgot her own status” and accepted everything as ordered. The disappointment and frustration this behavior caused to the people “can no longer be compensated in any way.”
官司纏身
When the case was pronounced, Jin Jianxi had been detained for more than a year and was about to spend his second Mid-Autumn Festival in detention.
In addition to the “selling official position to win title” case, Jin Jianxi still has many lawsuits to fight. Among them, the cases of stock price manipulation, receiving assets related to the Unification Church, and free polling are the first to be heard. At the end of January this year, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced her to one year and eight months in prison in the first instance, which was far lower than the 15-year sentence proposed by the special prosecution team, sparking controversy over the light sentence. Three months later, the Seoul High Court overturned the finding that he was not guilty of stock price manipulation and increased the prison sentence to four years. Now, the case has entered the Supreme Court full bench and is awaiting the final judgment.
Another lawsuit targets the Yun Seok-yue administration’s relocation project of the presidential residence. “21 Gram”, a company closely related to Jin Jianxi, replaced the original construction contractor without corresponding construction qualifications and won a project contract worth approximately 4.12 billion won (approximately RMB 20.3 million). The special investigation team accused Jin Jianxi of personally requesting a change of construction contractor and accepting luxury goods worth 10.12 million won (approximately RMB 50,000). In August this year, Jin Jianxi was additionally prosecuted for abuse of power, receiving money through mediation and other crimes.
Information from the South Korean Ministry of Justice shows that this summer, Kim Jian-hee met with lawyers 155 times in 63 days and used the interview room for a total of 99 hours. Unlike cells, detention center interview rooms are air-conditioned. Therefore, she used the interview room repeatedly for a long time and was questioned about her special treatment. However, his defense team stated that Jin Jianxi was facing multiple special prosecution cases at the same time and frequently met with lawyers to exercise his defense rights normally and denied receiving any special facilities.
Reporter: Chen Jialin
(kalimchen97@gmail.com)
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