Former President Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, saw for the first time in court on the 12th the luxury brand Chanel bags and shoes and a Graff necklace that she is said to have received from the Unification Church side. Kim's side said she did not use these items and returned all of them. The court directly checked for signs of use in relation to this claim.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong) held the eighth trial of Kim, who has been indicted and detained on charges including violations of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and the Political Funds Act.
In court, at the request of the bench, three bags and one pair of shoes that Kim acknowledged receiving and exchanging, and the actual necklace, were revealed. When the special prosecutor placed the shopping bags containing the items on the judges' bench, the three judges, wearing white gloves, checked the items with the naked eye or took photos with their mobile phones to directly assess signs of use.
After completing the inspection, Presiding Judge Woo said, "The white bag had no plastic film on the outer buckle and showed slight scratches that looked like signs of use," and added, "The inner buckle and zipper still had plastic film, and the shape-holding cloth was not inside." Regarding the shoes, the judge said, "There were signs of use on the soles," and regarding the necklace, said, "Whether it was used cannot be determined with the naked eye."
The Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor believes that Yoon Young-ho, head of the Unification Church's worldwide headquarters, delivered to Kim through fortune-teller Jeon Seong-bae one Chanel bag worth 8.02 million won in Apr. 2022, another Chanel bag worth 12.71 million won in the same year, and a Graff necklace worth 62 million won, among other items. The items disclosed that day have been submitted as evidence in the trial of Jeon, who has been indicted on charges of brokered bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes and violation of the Political Funds Act.
It is said that the two bags received in this way were exchanged through former presidential office administrative officer Yu Kyung-ok for three Chanel bags in white, black, and yellow, and one pair of shoes. Kim acknowledges receiving two Chanel bags and exchanging them, but strongly denies the allegation of receiving the Graff necklace.
Meanwhile, the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor notified former President Yoon Suk-yeol to appear as a suspect for questioning on the 26th. If Yoon appears, it will be the first face-to-face questioning in about five months since the special counsel team formally began its investigation on Jul. 2. Yoon has been named as an accomplice to allegations that Kim received polling results worth 270 million won from Myung Tae-gyun.
Earlier, the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor requested Yoon's appearance twice, on Jul. 29 and 30, but the sessions were canceled due to Yoon's refusal. Attempts to arrest him on Aug. 1 and 7 were also thwarted by firm resistance, and questioning did not take place then either. However, Yoon has recently agreed to stand trial on charges including insurrection and charges of obstructing special official duties and to a face-to-face interview with the special counsel team, actively exercising his right to defense.