Jeon Sung-bae Says, “Yoon Suk Yeol and His Wife Are Ungrateful People... Our Relationship Ended After He Became President”

[Financial News] Jeon Sung-bae, known as 'Geonjin Beopsa,' testified in court, stating, "(Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife) are people who do not know gratitude. Our relationship ended after he took office, and they ignored me." Jeon is currently under arrest and on trial for allegedly delivering a luxury bag and necklace, gifts from the Unification Church, to Kim Keon Hee.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Lee Jin-kwan, held the fourth hearing for Chang-wook Park, a Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Council member indicted for violating the Political Funds Act, and Broker Kim. Park was brought to trial last September on charges of requesting Jeon’s help with his party nomination ahead of the June 2022 local elections, while Broker Kim admitted in court last month to asking Jeon for favors regarding the appointment of the Commissioner of the National Tax Service, assignments to the Presidential Transition Committee, police personnel matters, and the appointment of the Chief of the Special Inspection Team at the Blue House.

Jeon appeared as a witness at the trial and said, “As soon as Yoon Suk Yeol became president, I was exposed in the media, and reporters practically besieged my house. I couldn't stay at home and had to remain outside. Even then, the former president and his wife did not show any consideration for me. Instead, they drew a clear line, saying they had 'no connection' with me. So I thought our relationship had effectively ended early on.”

When the special prosecutor asked, 'Did you not deliver a Chanel bag from the Unification Church to Mrs. Kim in July 2022, and can you really say your relationship with the former president and his wife ended?' Jeon replied, “After Yoon Suk Yeol took office, I blocked their calls entirely. Even before he became president, I felt he had changed a lot from before, so I decided I shouldn't talk to him anymore. Mrs. Kim also started to change, but there was still something about her that made it hard for me to cut ties completely.”
He continued, “I knew that Mrs. Kim was mentally struggling and lost about 10 kilograms while being investigated by the prosecution before the presidential election. When she called me, our conversations would last an average of three hours, with her confiding her difficulties to me. I was worried about her, so I tried to be someone who could listen to her problems. But after Yoon became president, all contact stopped, and we no longer spoke.”

Jeon also stated, “Whether it was the Unification Church or anyone else, I always repaid those who did something for me. But these people (the former president and his wife) do not know how to be grateful. Since the president is chosen by the people, he should have a sense of gratitude toward them. At that time, Mrs. Kim would only call if she felt better after taking psychiatric medication, and if she wasn’t well, she wouldn’t call at all. When she regained her composure, she should have at least said ‘thank you.’ After receiving help, how could she just cut me off? In reality, we never maintained a close relationship.”

When the special prosecutor asked why the former president and his wife should be grateful, Jeon answered, “There are times when you do ten good things and one bad thing, but even if you do ten bad things, one good deed can change a life. From my perspective, even if I did ten things wrong for them, I believe I did at least one thing that brought about a significant change in their lives.”

He added, “I never acted in a way that deserved to be ignored by them, but they did ignore me. Regarding being disregarded, I told them, ‘If you ignore someone, you should expect the same in return.’”

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter