Former Unification Church Deputy Minister Yoon Young-ho was arrested on the 30th for allegedly giving a necklace and luxury bags worth tens of millions of won to Jeon Seong-bae, known as 'Geonjin Beopsa,' to solicit Unification Church affairs.
Director General Jung Jae-wook of the Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant for the arrest of former Deputy Minister Yoon, who is facing allegations of violating the Political Funds Act, the Improper Solicitation Prevention Act, and embezzlement, noting that there is a risk of evidence tampering and flight. Earlier, Yoon did not answer questions from reporters about why he had given the necklace during the pre-arrest interrogation.
Former Deputy Minister Yoon is accused of delivering two Chanel bags worth about 20 million won to Jeon from April to June 2022 and a British Graff diamond necklace worth around 60 million won and concentrated Chunsusam tea from June to August 2022 to solicit Unification Church-related matters from First Lady Kim Keon-hee.
The special investigation team suspects that former Deputy Minister Yoon gave expensive gifts to Jeon to solicit issues such as the development of the Cambodian Mekong River site under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) project, the acquisition of YTN, and an invitation to the presidential inauguration. The Unification Church argues that 'this was a personal deviation by former Deputy Minister Yoon.'
A warrant for the arrest of Lee Mo, known to be close to Jeon, was also issued on the same day. Lee is accused of receiving money and valuables in exchange for soliciting matters related to the duties of government officials under the Special Act on the Punishment of Certain Crimes, including bribery.