Geonjin Beopsa Jeon Seong-bae, Waives Detention Warrant Review... "Will Accept Detention"

[Financial News] Geonjin Beopsa Jeon Seong-bae, who is embroiled in various allegations including 'bribery suspicion', has waived the pre-arrest interrogation (warrant review).
According to the legal community on the 21st, Mr. Jeon conveyed his intention to not attend the warrant review via phone through his lawyer to the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Team (Min Jung-gi Special Prosecutor) the previous day. The warrant review for Mr. Jeon is scheduled to be held at 10:30 a.m. that day under the jurisdiction of Judge Nam Se-jin, who is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court.
It has been confirmed that Mr. Jeon also conveyed to the special prosecutor's side his intention to "accept detention". Instead of attending the warrant review that day, Mr. Jeon is scheduled to meet with the investigators in charge of detention at 8:30 a.m. and move according to the court's decision on the detention location.
Mr. Jeon is under suspicion of having delivered gifts such as a diamond necklace and a Chanel bag, intended for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee, from the Unification Church in 2022, and of having made personnel requests to influential political figures. He is also suspected of having facilitated the mass admission of Unification Church members into the People Power Party to ensure the election of pro-Yoon lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong ahead of the 2023 party convention, and of having requested nominations for specific individuals during the 2022 local elections.
The requests conveyed by Yoon Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church World Headquarters, who delivered items and requests to Mr. Jeon at the time, include △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.
So far, Mr. Jeon claims to have "lost" the Chanel bag and other items delivered by former head Yoon. Mr. Jeon explained that he instructed Yu Kyung-ok, a former administrator and one of Mrs. Kim's 'three aides', to exchange the Chanel bag for one pair of shoes and three bags, during which process it was lost.
The special prosecutor team seems to have applied for an arrest warrant, judging that these statements lack credibility. The special prosecutor team pointed out △the inconsistency in Geonjin Beopsa's statements △the discrepancies between the current evidence and statements and the facts △the frequent changes in residence, and judged that there is a concern for evidence destruction and flight risk.

theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-su Reporter