Witness Testifies Luxury Items Delivered to Kim Keon-hee in Bribery Trial
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Jeon Seong-bae, known as “Geonjin Beop-sa,” testified in court on the 24th regarding the allegation that he received a Graff diamond necklace worth 62.2 million Korean won and two Chanel bags worth around 10 million Korean won each from a high-ranking Unification Church official and delivered them to Kim Keon-hee, saying, “The luxury items were delivered to Ms. Kim.” Ms. Kim has maintained that she did not receive the luxury items. However, Jeon, who was close to Ms. Kim, stated in court that day, “This is a part for which Ms. Kim should take responsibility.”
Jeon appeared as a witness in the trial of Ms. Kim’s alleged solicitation and bribery case, which was held under the jurisdiction of the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong) on that day. In court, Jeon revealed that from April to July 2022, after receiving luxury items including the Graff necklace from former Unification Church World Headquarters Director Yun Young-ho, he had his brother-in-law, Mr. Kim, deliver them to former presidential office administrator Yoo Kyung-ok, a close aide to Ms. Kim. Jeon further stated, “I directly heard from Ms. Kim that she had received them.” During his own trial held on the 14th of last month, Jeon admitted to handing the gifts to former administrator Yoo. On that day, he provided more detailed testimony regarding the circumstances of delivering the items to Ms. Kim. Ms. Kim’s legal representative questioned Jeon’s testimony, asking, “Do you know that there is no objective evidence except for the witness’s statement?” Jeon responded, “I do not know.” Ms. Kim’s side stated, “We will discuss the credibility of Jeon’s statement and the factual relationship with Ms. Kim and convey it to the court.”
When Jeon was investigated by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office before the special counsel was established, he stated, “I had kept the gifts, including the Chanel bags, in shopping bags but lost them.” Last May, when the prosecution presented circumstances suggesting that former administrator Yoo had exchanged the Chanel bags for other Chanel bags and shoes, Jeon changed his statement, saying, “I had asked someone to run an errand.” During the special counsel’s investigation last August, he reportedly stated, “After telling Ms. Kim, ‘I will keep them during the president’s term,’ I lost them.” However, it is said that all of these statements were false. Jeon stated, “In 2024, my brother-in-law received all the luxury items at once from former administrator Yoo and stored them in a complex where my house is located.” Regarding the background of his retracted statements, Jeon said, “I thought this was a part for which Ms. Kim should take responsibility,” adding, “As a religious person myself, I could not continue lying.” The name of the Graff necklace received by Ms. Kim was also disclosed in court that day. The product name is ‘Classic Butterfly Single Motif Pair Shape Diamond Drop Pendant.’
Also testifying as a witness at the trial that day, in relation to the allegation that former President Yoon Suk-yeol and Ms. Kim intervened in the nominations during the 2022 by-elections for National Assembly members, was former lawmaker Kim Young-sun, who received the People Power Party’s nomination for the Changwon Uichang constituency in South Gyeongsang Province at the time. Regarding whether former President Yoon intervened in the nominations, former lawmaker Kim stated, “As he had just become president, he had not yet taken control of the party.” This implies that the former president and his wife were unable to exert influence.
Content retrieved from: https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2025/10/24/7XJA35N7GBDQ3PYBS5C474LIM4/.
