Jeon Seong-bae, nicknamed "Geonjin," who is accused of receiving goods and money worth hundreds of millions of won under the pretext of influence peddling by leveraging ties with Kim Keon-hee, was sentenced to six years in prison at the first trial on the 24th. The sentence is heavier than the special counsel's request of five years.
The 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (presiding judge Lee Jin-gwan) sentenced Jeon, who was charged with brokered bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violating the Political Funds Act, to six years in prison. The court also ordered forfeiture of a little over 180 million won.
Prosecutors say Jeon, in collusion with Kim, accepted from former Unification Church World Headquarters chief Yoon Young-ho in April–July 2022 a diamond necklace worth about 62 million won and two Chanel bags worth a total of about 20 million won in return for seeking support for the denomination. The special counsel determined that the goods and money Yoon handed to Jeon were delivered to Kim.
During the same period, Jeon also allegedly demanded an adviser post at Unification Group in return for influence peddling and mediation, receiving a total of 30 million won.
Jeon argued that he was merely a go-between, but the court found he would have recognized the purpose for which the Unification Church delivered the goods and money to him. Because the goods and money were acknowledged as being for lobbying on behalf of Unification Church projects, the court also found Jeon guilty of brokered bribery.
However, the court found him not guilty on the Political Funds Act charge that he received 100 million won from North Gyeongsang provincial council member Park Chang-wook in connection with candidate nominations. Based on the evidence submitted, the court determined it was difficult to see Jeon as a person engaged in political activities and difficult to deem the money received as political funds.
Even so, the court on the day handed down six years, higher than the special counsel's requested five years. At the final hearing in Dec. last year, the special counsel had sought a total of five years in prison—three years for brokered bribery and two years for violating the Political Funds Act.
As for the reasons for sentencing, the court said, "The defendant's brokerage led to collusion between religion and state involving former President Yoon Suk-yeol and his spouse and the Unification Church," adding, "The Constitution of the Republic of Korea enshrines separation of religion and state as a basic principle, and this runs counter to that." The court also noted that Jeon's denial of the crimes during the investigation wasted a lengthy period of investigative time.