Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church's world headquarters, who was brought to trial on charges of delivering valuables such as a luxury bag and a necklace to Kim Keon-hee, was sentenced to prison in the first trial.
The 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong) on the 28th sentenced the former head to 1 year and 2 months in prison on charges including violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The court ruled, "For the violation of the Political Funds Act, we sentence 8 months in prison, and for the violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and occupational embezzlement, we sentence 6 months in prison, respectively." However, regarding the charge of destroying evidence, the court dismissed the indictment on the grounds that it does not fall under the scope of the Kim Keon-hee special counsel's investigation.
Regarding the nature of the acts by the former head, the court said, "The defendant planned the crimes in this case and carried them out after obtaining approval from Han Hak-ja, the Unification Church's supreme leader," adding, "This was not merely passive compliance but proactive control and execution."
It continued, "By leveraging the Unification Church's financial power to provide large sums of valuables to Kim Keon-hee and Kweon Seong-dong, who are among the president's closest associates, the defendant embezzled Unification Church funds in the process," and "This undermined the legislative purposes of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, which ensure the sound development of democracy." The court also said, "Regardless of whether the Unification Church's solicitations were realized, the crime itself undermined the public's trust in the fair execution of national policy."
However, regarding sentencing, the court said, "Despite tangible and intangible pressure from the Unification Church side, the former head cooperated with the investigation by testifying consistently within the scope of what he knew about the facts," adding, "Aside from disputing the establishment of certain charges during trial, he admitted the facts and contributed to uncovering the truth by appearing as a witness and testifying in other cases." The court also indicated it considered that the purpose was not personal gain but to expand the Unification Church's strength and influence.
The former head is accused of delivering, with the intent to solicit on Unification Church pending issues, two Chanel bags worth about 20 million won from April to June 2022; a Graff diamond necklace from the United Kingdom worth around 60 million won from June to August 2022; and Cheonsusam concentrated tea to "Geonjin," Jeon Seong-bae.
The Kim Keon-hee special counsel believes the former head sought to approach Kim to lobby on Unification Church issues such as support for official development assistance (ODA) projects including development of land along the Mekong River in Cambodia; the acquisition of YTN; an invitation to the presidential inauguration; bringing the United Nations' 5th headquarters to Korea; and the Minister of Education's attendance at a Unification Church event. It also alleged that, ahead of the 20th presidential election, in Jan. 2022, acting on instructions from Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, he handed 100 million won to People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong shortly after Yoon Suk-yeol's election victory as a bribe for solicitations.
Earlier, at the sentencing hearing, the special counsel sought 2 years in prison for the violation of the Political Funds Act and 2 years in prison for the remaining crimes. Meanwhile, before the sentencing of the former head, Kim, whose first-instance sentencing hearing was held by the same panel, was found guilty on charges of mediating in exchange for money and valuables for the Unification Church and was sentenced to 1 year and 8 months in prison.