The special investigation team stated on the 25th that it plans to indict Kim Keon-hee this week. The team is expected to summon her for additional questioning on the 27th.
Special Prosecutor Park Sang-jin said at a regular briefing that afternoon, "Since the detention period expires on this Sunday (31st), she will be indicted before then," adding, "We are aiming for Friday (29th) as the date for the indictment."
Earlier, on the 12th, the court issued a warrant for Kim Keon-hee's detainment. The detention period has since been extended and is set to expire on the 31st.
Around 10 a.m. that day, Kim Keon-hee appeared for her fourth investigation by the special investigation team after her detention. On the 21st, the team prepared a questionnaire of over 100 pages regarding the allegations of solicitation involving the monk Geon-jin, but it reportedly only completed about half of the questions. According to the special investigation team, the investigation that day was focused on the portions that could not be completed, but it was reported that Kim Keon-hee exercised her right to refuse to testify for the most part.
The special investigation team reported that the investigation that day began at 10:10 a.m. and ended at 3:45 p.m. The review of the records continued from 4:15 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.
The special investigation team plans to conduct a fifth investigation of Kim Keon-hee at 10 a.m. on the 27th.
Kim Keon-hee is accused of exerting influence in favor of former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun to receive the party's nomination in a by-election that year, in exchange for receiving the results of public opinion polls for free 58 times from 'political broker' Myung Tae-kyun during the 2022 presidential election.
She is also charged with being involved as a 'money lender' in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case that took place from 2009 to 2012, and receiving high-priced necklaces and other items as well as requests for the issues of the religious group from Jeon Seong-bae through Geon-jin, which violates the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Meanwhile, the special investigation team summoned Jeon for the first time since his detention on the 21st and is currently investigating him. Special Prosecutor Park Sang-jin noted, "During today's investigation, Jeon is not exercising his right to refuse to testify." Jeon is reported to have generally denied the allegations during the investigation that day.
Jeon is accused of receiving luxury brand Graf necklaces worth around 60 million won and two Chanel bags worth approximately 10 million won from former Unification Church head Yoon Young-ho as gifts for Kim Keon-hee between April and July 2022. The special investigation team believes that the Unification Church provided these gifts to Jeon for various requests, including support for development projects along the Mekong River in Cambodia, acquiring YTN, hosting the United Nations' Fifth Office in Korea, and invitations to the presidential inauguration ceremony.
Jeon is also suspected of receiving money under the pretext of prayer fees from political figures in the lead-up to the June 1, 2022, local elections and delivering requests for nominations to Kim Keon-hee and other key political figures. The special investigation team conducted raids on Jeon's temple and related parties on the 15th of last month.