Supreme Court refers ex-first lady case to full bench, postpones ruling

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee attends the first hearing of her corruption trial following her indictment on charges of stock manipulation, bribery and other corruption at the Seoul Central District Court, Sept. 24. Joint Press Corps

The Supreme Court said Thursday it has postponed the sentencing hearing of former first lady Kim Keon Hee's corruption trial in order to refer the case to its full bench.

The hearing had been scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday following deliberations by Division 2 of the court. The new date was not immediately disclosed.

The trial centers on charges that Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was involved in a stock price manipulation scheme, accepted luxury gifts from the Unification Church and received free opinion poll results from a self-proclaimed power broker.

The full bench referral was likely caused by conflicting rulings from lower courts regarding the opinion polls, as Kim was acquitted while her husband was found partially guilty on the same charge.

In a separate case, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was also found guilty Wednesday on charges of receiving free opinion poll results from the power broker, Myung Tae-kyun, and having one of his supporters pay the cost.

Full bench referrals are typically decided when a ruling by a four-member panel of judges is deemed inappropriate or when there is a difference in opinion within the panel.

The hearing was already postponed once last week after a special counsel team that indicted Kim requested more time to submit additional opinions.