The much heavier penalty came as the court overturned Kim’s prior acquittal by a lower court on stock price manipulation charges.

“The court sentences the defendant to four years in prison and imposes a 50 million won (US$34,000) fine,” the Seoul High Court said in a verdict televised live.

It found Kim guilty of manipulating the share price of Deutsch Motors, a South Korean car dealer, which it ruled a “collusive… trading act constituting market manipulation”.

“The defendant appears to have participated in such conduct,” the court said as it overturned her initial acquittal.

Kim, the wife of jailed ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, was handed 20 months in jail in January for bribery after she accepted luxury gifts from a cult-like church.

She appealed the verdict in the hope of clearing her name, while prosecutors also did so arguing that the sentence was too lenient and that her acquittals were wrongful.

The court said on Tuesday that the 53-year-old had “failed to acknowledge her culpability and has instead consistently resorted to excuses”.

As a result of Kim’s acceptance of bribes, “public trust in the transparency of state affairs and the fair execution of national policy was undermined,” the court said.