The second-instance verdict in the Jin Jianxi case was revised: The prison term was increased to four years. Two key charges were changed from not guilty to guilty.

On the 28th, the second trial verdict for the case involving former South Korean First Lady Kim Hyang-hee's alleged corruption, bribery and manipulation of stock prices was announced. The Seoul High Court significantly increased her sentence from the one-year-and-eight-month prison term in the first trial to four years, and imposed a fine of 50 million Korean won. It also ordered the confiscation of her assets and luxury items. After the verdict, Kim Hyang-hee's legal team stated that they would file an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Seoul High Court delivered its verdict on the case involving Kim Hyang-hee on the afternoon of the 28th. The court upheld several charges and significantly increased the sentence. The first trial had sentenced her to one year and eight months in prison and confiscated approximately 12.81 million won.

Jin Jianxi was charged with three main crimes, including involvement in the manipulation of Deutsche Auto's stock prices, accepting luxury items such as Chanel bags and Graff necklaces from individuals associated with the Unification Church, and receiving polling services from political consultant Mingta Qin for free.

At the trial venue, Jin Jianxi wore a dark suit and had her hair tied up, wearing glasses and a mask. Her expression was depressed. She was helped by the prison guards to slowly sit down, with the number "4398" on her chest. During the sentencing, she always kept her head down and stood up to listen to the judgment when it was read out. After learning that the sentence had been increased, she looked unhappy but made no response and still denied all the charges.

In the stock manipulation case, the court determined that Kim Jeong-hi entrusted approximately 2 billion Korean won to "Black Pearl Investment Company" for stock trading from October to November 2010, and agreed to share the profits at a rate of 40%.

The first instance held that this action did not suffice to prove that it was aware of or involved in the manipulation; however, the second instance pointed out that expecting only natural price increases or relying on insider information could not explain such a high proportion of the share split. It could not be ruled out that it was acting as "an artificial price boost consideration". Moreover, investing a huge amount of funds without setting up guarantees or having a loss compensation agreement was also regarded as an important basis for its having a full understanding of the risk and return structure.

In the bribery case, the main point of contention centered on a Chanel bag worth approximately 8.02 million Korean won that was delivered on April 7, 2022. The second-instance adjudication panel held that this time point was only a little over a month after President Yoon Suk Yeol took office, and the purpose of the bribery request was highly foreseeable. Therefore, they overturned the judgment of the first instance that "the defendant was unaware of it."

The court stated that Kim Hyang-hee expressed her gratitude to the Unification Church for its support during the election of Yoon Suk-yeol, and expressed her expectation that he would continue to provide assistance in the new government; and the party providing the gifts also hoped that the government would offer support on related unresolved cases. Both parties clearly recognized the nature of the exchange of benefits. Given that the value of the involved gifts was significantly higher than that of ordinary social gifts, it was difficult to determine that it was merely a case of personal friendship.

The chief judge stated: "It is hard to believe that expensive items were exchanged as ordinary gifts through personal connections without any consideration of value."

Furthermore, the first instance had already determined that other luxury bags involved in the crime of improper benefits and the Graff necklace were also found guilty in the second instance. In the sentencing reasons, the court particularly mentioned Kim Jeong-hyeok's "president's spouse" status, stating that this status has indirect influence on state power and is highly symbolic, and thus he should bear higher standards of integrity and moral responsibility. However, the defendant used his position to commit illegal acts and damaged public trust.

The court also pointed out that this case has sparked widespread controversy at the societal level, exacerbating the division of public opinion and social conflicts, and having significant negative impacts.

The public trial was broadcast live with the permission of the court. After the verdict was announced, the legal team of Kim Jeong-hi stated to the media that they had doubts about whether the judgment "expanded the factual findings", and would file an appeal to the Supreme Court after consulting with the client.