Kim Gun-hee, who has been indicted and detained on charges of stock manipulation involving Deutsche Motors, interference in nominations, as well as bribery allegations related to the Unification Church, appeared at the final trial on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 3rd, engaging in conversation with her lawyer. (Yonhap News)
Kim Gun-hee, sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for accepting bribes from the Unification Church, has appealed the first trial’s verdict.
On the 2nd, Kim’s legal team submitted an appeal to the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo In-sung). It is expected that Kim’s side will argue for acquittal or claim the sentencing was excessive regarding some charges that were convicted in the first trial.
Immediately after the verdict was given on the 28th of last month, Kim’s team stated that it “clearly showed what consequences occur when political power intervenes in investigations,” and that they would consider appealing because the sentence for solicitation of bribery seemed somewhat high.
The special prosecutor for Kim Gun-hee also appealed on the 30th of last month, stating that there were serious errors in fact-finding and legal misinterpretations concerning the not guilty verdict and that the sentence for the guilty part was excessively lenient.
Thus, a more fierce battle is expected in the second trial.