Special Prosecutor Notifies Unification Church President Han Hak-ja of Third Summons on the 15th... 'Kim Geon-hee Call Records' Secured

[Financial News] The special prosecutor team of Kim Geon-hee (Min Jung-gi special prosecutor) has notified Unification Church President Han Hak-ja again after she submitted a non-appearance statement.
Park Sang-jin, the special prosecutor's assistant, stated on the 10th, "This morning, the legal team submitted a non-appearance statement for President Han due to health reasons," and announced that she has been summoned again for 10 a.m. on the 15th.
President Han is accused of delivering gifts worth 80 million won, including two Chanel bags and a Graff necklace, to Jeon Seong-bae, known as Geonjin Beopsa, through Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church World Headquarters, as gifts for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee. During this process, it is known that former head Yoon conveyed requests such as △the acquisition of YTN by the Unification Church △support for the Mekong River development project in Cambodia △the bid to host the UN's 5th Secretariat in Korea, stating that President Han had given permission.
Additionally, President Han is also suspected of delivering cash and other valuables to Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, through former head Yoon, and receiving information related to overseas gambling investigations from Representative Kwon.
The special prosecutor team plans to investigate President Han as a suspect, applying charges of mediation under the special law and violation of the political funds law. However, President Han did not appear for the scheduled summons on the 8th and submitted another non-appearance statement for the 11th due to health reasons. It is known that President Han's side conveyed that she could not attend due to health issues, as her oxygen saturation level was below the normal range after a heart-related procedure on the 4th.
President Han's side maintains, "There has been no illegal political solicitation or monetary transactions ordered."
The special prosecutor team is expected to apply for an arrest warrant if President Han fails to appear again. Typically, if a suspect does not respond to three summonses, an arrest warrant is requested for forced attendance. A special prosecutor team official stated, "We hope the summons investigation will proceed," adding, "(The arrest warrant) is something to consider later, not something to discuss now."
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor team has moved to secure the communication records of Mrs. Kim Geon-hee held by the special prosecutor team of Chae Sang-byeong (Lee Myung-hyun special prosecutor). The communication records of Mrs. Kim were secured by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) before the special prosecutor's office was established, as part of the investigation into lobbying allegations. The CIO secured Mrs. Kim's communication records around August 2023 and transferred them to the Chae Sang-byeong special prosecutor in July. This execution of the search and seizure warrant is in the nature of material transfer for cooperation. It is understood that Mrs. Kim is specified as a suspect in the warrant.
The special prosecutor team plans to use the secured records for future investigations. It is expected to be used in substantiating charges regarding who Mrs. Kim communicated with during the period when allegations of lobbying for Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Investment, surfaced.
The special prosecutor team is reportedly considering the application of bribery and mediation under the special law for Mrs. Kim's 'bribery allegations.' In addition to the 'gold turtle' of former National Education Commissioner Lee Bae-yong and the 'NATO tour set of three' of Seohee Construction Chairman Lee Bong-gwan, luxury goods such as Cartier and Rolex watches have been found in a nursing home owned by Mrs. Kim's family, accelerating the investigation into luxury goods receipt and bribery allegations. The special prosecutor team plans to proceed with legal review after the facts of these allegations are first concluded.

theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter