The special prosecution for Kim Keon-hee stated that it requested an arrest warrant for Jeon Seong-bae on the 19th on charges of bribery and others. Jeon is accused of receiving luxury bags and necklaces from a leader of the Unification Church, claiming he could resolve issues related to the Unification Church by leveraging his relationship with Kim Keon-hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
On that day, Special Prosecutor Park Sang-jin noted in a media briefing, "We requested an arrest warrant for Jeon Seong-bae regarding the bribery allegations under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and the Political Funds Act this afternoon."
The hearing for Jeon's arrest warrant will take place on the 21st. Director General Nam Se-jin of the Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to preside over the pre-arrest interrogation of Jeon at 10:30 a.m. on the 21st.
Jeon is accused of receiving a Graff necklace worth 60 million won, claimed to be a gift from Kim Keon-hee, and two Chanel bags worth around 10 million won each from Yoon Young-ho, who was the global director of the Unification Church from April to July 2022. The special prosecution believes that the Unification Church provided such valuables to Jeon in exchange for various requests, including support for a development project on the Mekong River in Cambodia, acquisition of YTN by the Unification Church, hosting the UN's fifth office in Korea, and invitations to the presidential inauguration.
Jeon is also suspected of receiving money under the pretext of prayer fees from political figures ahead of the June 1, 2022, local elections and delivering requests regarding nominations to key political figures, including Kim Keon-hee. The special prosecution conducted a search of Jeon's temple and related persons on the 15th of last month.
A special prosecution official commented on the background of the arrest warrant request, saying, "Jeon's statements have been inconsistent, and there are significant concerns about evidence destruction regarding the facts of the case." They added, "We are also considering that Jeon has changed residences multiple times and there are concerns about potential flight."