A former South Korean prosecutor who allegedly tried to buy political influence with a painting by Lee Ufan has now been convicted on appeal, in a case that adds disputed authenticity claims surrounding a $95,000 artwork to a conventional bribery scandal involving the former first lady of Korea.
The Seoul High Court this week overturned an earlier acquittal of former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min, finding him guilty of violating South Korea’s anti-corruption law after prosecutors argued he gifted a Lee Ufan painting to former first lady Kim Keon Hee in exchange for political support ahead of the country’s 2024 parliamentary elections.
According to The Chosun Daily, Kim Sang-min allegedly gifted the work From Dots (No. 800298), valued at 140 million won, or roughly $95,500, while seeking help securing a nomination from the conservative People Power Party. The appeals court sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for three years, on the bribery charges, while also handing down a separate one-year suspended sentence tied to illegal political donations.
What pushed the case into strange territory was the question of whether the painting was authentic. Kim’s defense reportedly argued that the Lee Ufan work was actually a forgery worth less than 1 million won (about $680), an argument that, if accepted, would have undercut the prosecutor’s claims that the gift violated anti-graft laws governing high-value items. The appeals court rejected that argument after physically presenting the artwork in court and consulting experts, concluding the piece was in fact authentic and properly valued at 140 million won.
The ruling also revived testimony from an art dealer whose statements had helped Kim win acquittal in the lower court. While the first trial dismissed the broker as unreliable after parts of his testimony changed, appellate judges said the witness’s account remained credible overall, including claims that Kim said the former first lady “received the painting and liked it.”
The court was unusually blunt in its criticism of Kim, writing that the longtime prosecutor had “severely damaged public trust” by allegedly giving a high-value artwork to the president’s wife while preparing a political run of his own. Judges also upheld separate findings that Kim improperly received about 42 million won (about $28,000) in political support tied to vehicle leases and insurance payments during preparations for his election campaign.
Kim told reporters after the ruling that he respected the court’s decision but was “deeply disappointed” and would consult his legal team about a possible appeal.
