Seoul, Jan 27 (NationPress) A South Korean court has granted permission for live broadcasts of this week's verdict concerning the corruption and bribery allegations against former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The Seoul Central District Court stated it approved the request from broadcasters to air the ruling, which is set to take place during a hearing scheduled for 2:10 p.m. on Wednesday, as reported by Yonhap News Agency.

This court typically permits live broadcasts in light of the public's interest.

Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team is seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Kim, citing violations of the Capital Market Act, the Political Funds Act, and laws regarding bribery.

Kim, the spouse of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is accused of collaborating with a former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealership in South Korea, and a close associate to manipulate stock prices and generate 810 million won (approximately $559,000) in illicit profits between 2010 and 2012.

Additionally, Kim is suspected of receiving free opinion polls valued at 270 million won, alongside her husband, from a self-proclaimed power broker before the 2022 presidential election.

These polls were allegedly conducted in exchange for the nomination of former People Power Party Representative Kim Young-sun for a parliamentary by-election later that year.

Moreover, the former first lady is accused of conspiring with a shaman to accept luxury gifts worth 80 million won from a Unification Church official in 2022, along with requests for business favors.

Kim has been in custody since August 12 due to these charges.

Her husband is also incarcerated, facing trial for insurrection and other charges linked to his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024.

On January 16, former President Yoon Suk Yeol received a five-year prison sentence on charges that included obstructing investigators' attempts to detain him last year.

The Seoul Central District Court delivered this verdict in the first ruling concerning charges related to Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024.

Among the primary charges was that the then-president directed the Presidential Security Service to prevent investigators from executing a warrant to detain him at the official presidential residence in January of the previous year.

Presiding judge Baek Dae-hyun criticized Yoon during the hearing, which was attended by the imprisoned former president and broadcast live.

“He effectively privatized the armed forces through public servants of the Presidential Security Service who are loyal to the Republic of Korea for his personal safety and interests,” he remarked.

“Due to the need to restore the rule of law damaged by the defendant’s actions, a stringent punishment reflecting his guilt is necessary.”

The sentence was half of what special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team had requested, arguing that the former president committed a grave crime by “privatizing” state institutions to conceal and justify his criminal behaviors.

In addition to obstructing his detention, Yoon faced accusations of violating the rights of nine Cabinet members who were not invited to a meeting to discuss his martial law strategy, and drafting and subsequently destroying a revised proclamation after the martial law decree was lifted.

He was also charged with ordering the dissemination of press statements containing false information about the declaration and deleting records from secure phones used by military commanders.