Special Prosecutor Requests Arrest Warrant for Geonjin Beopsa a Day After Summons... Kim Geon-hee Submits Non-Attendance Statement

[Financial News] The special prosecutor team led by Min Jung-gi has moved to secure the arrest of Jeon Seong-bae, known as Geonjin Beopsa, who is under suspicion for the 'Unification Church solicitation scandal'.
Special Prosecutor Park Sang-jin announced on the 19th that they have requested an arrest warrant for Jeon under charges of bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act. Jeon has appeared for multiple prosecution investigations since the allegations surfaced last year, but this was his first special prosecutor investigation.
Jeon is accused of receiving gifts such as a diamond necklace and Chanel bag from the Unification Church for Kim Geon-hee and delivering them to her, as well as soliciting personnel appointments from influential political figures. Additionally, he is suspected of orchestrating a mass membership of Unification Church believers into the People Power Party to secure the election of pro-Yoon Kwon Seong-dong in the 2023 party convention, and of soliciting nominations during the 2022 local elections.
Requests made by Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church World Headquarters, to Jeon included △support for the Unification Church's Mekong River development project in Cambodia △acquisition of YTN by the Unification Church △hosting the UN's 5th Secretariat in Korea △invitation to the presidential inauguration.
To date, Jeon claims to have "lost" the Chanel bag and other items delivered by Yoon. Jeon instructed Yoo Kyung-ok, one of Kim's 'three aides', to exchange the Chanel bag for one pair of shoes and three bags, during which he claims the items were lost.
The special prosecutor team deemed Jeon's testimony unreliable and requested an arrest warrant. They pointed out △the inconsistency in Geonjin Beopsa's testimony △discrepancies in facts based on current evidence and testimony △frequent changes in residence, indicating concerns about evidence destruction and flight risk.
The special prosecutor team is expected to emphasize these points during the upcoming detention review. Recently, the team indicted Jeon's close associate Lee Mo and former head Yoon, highlighting the necessity of Jeon's arrest based on their investigation. A team representative stated, "There are additional criminal facts beyond what has been disclosed to the media."
Kim Geon-hee has submitted a statement of non-attendance for the special prosecutor's summons scheduled for the 20th. Kim, who was detained on the 12th, attended two summons on the 14th and 18th but cited health reasons for not attending this time. The special prosecutor plans to reschedule her summons for the 21st.
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor executed a second search and seizure of the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding the 'official residence relocation privilege scandal'. Last year, the Board conducted an audit of construction companies in the first audit and investigated the circumstances of the official residence construction in the re-audit. The materials obtained by the special prosecutor this time are from the re-audit. On the 13th, the special prosecutor conducted searches of the Board of Audit and Inspection and interior company 21 Gram. They are also investigating Hyundai Construction's promise of 80 billion won for the presidential residence construction under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.
In relation to the 'Yangpyeong Expressway endpoint change privilege scandal', the special prosecutor conducted a search and seizure of Donghae Comprehensive Technology Corporation, the contractor at the time, and two employees in the morning. They are investigating whether Kim Geon-hee, Kim Seon-kyo of the People Power Party, and former Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong were involved.
Additionally, Lee Jun-seok of the Reform New Party also appeared at the special prosecutor's office to participate in forensic work. Lee is under suspicion of improperly intervening in the nomination process during the 2022 local elections and the parliamentary by-elections while serving as the People Power Party's leader, along with former President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife, and is also implicated in the 'Chilbulsa meeting' scandal. The special prosecutor conducted a search of Lee's office on the 28th of last month.


theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter