Pastor Choi Jaeyoung Recalled as a Suspect
Investigation Planned on Bribery Allegations Revealed on YouTube
The prosecution will re-summon Pastor Choi Jaeyoung, who gave luxury bags and other items to First Lady Kim Geonhee, wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, on the 31st of this month. It has been confirmed that Pastor Choi's departure from the country has been suspended at the request of the prosecution.
Pastor Choi Jae-young, who gave luxury bags to First Lady Kim Geon-hee, appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 13th as a suspect and responded to reporters' questions. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@
According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Seungho) plans to summon Pastor Choi on the morning of the 31st as a suspect on charges including violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and trespassing. This will be the second summons, 18 days after Pastor Choi was first questioned on the 13th.
The prosecution is reportedly planning to investigate additional allegations of solicitation by Pastor Choi, which were newly disclosed through the Seoul Voice YouTube channel the previous day.
Seoul Voice claimed that Pastor Choi solicited First Lady Kim for invitations to the welcome dinner for U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Korea, the appointment of former U.S. Congressman Kim Changjoon as a national advisory committee member, burial at the National Cemetery, and the resumption of broadcasts on Tongil TV.
Seoul Voice stated that solicitations were concentrated between June 2022, when Pastor Choi gifted luxury cosmetics and perfume to First Lady Kim, and September 2022, when he gave her a luxury bag. They also released messages exchanged between Pastor Choi and the First Lady, as well as interviews with Pastor Choi.
They alleged that First Lady Kim accepted some of Pastor Choi's solicitations, such as connecting him with a manager from the Presidential Office's General Affairs Secretary's Office and an employee from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to discuss the National Cemetery burial issue.
Regarding the solicitation for the appointment of former Congressman Kim as a national advisory committee member, KakaoTalk messages were submitted to the prosecution on the 20th by Baek Eunjong, CEO of Seoul Voice, but it is reported that screenshots of messages containing other solicitations have not yet been submitted. The prosecution has reportedly requested Pastor Choi to submit all related materials.
Regarding the suspicion of Kim Geon-hee's receipt of luxury handbags, Baek Eun-jong, the representative of the online media outlet Seoul's Voice, who filed a complaint against President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife, appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 20th as a complainant and spoke to reporters. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@
However, Pastor Choi maintains that he has no materials to submit, having already handed over all KakaoTalk conversations and other documents to former MBC reporter Jang Insu, who first reported the luxury bag allegations. Seoul Voice said it would submit materials related to other solicitations in future investigations.
The prosecution plans to summon Seoul Voice reporter Lee Myungsoo on the 30th at 2 p.m., one day before Pastor Choi's summons, as a suspect on charges including violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and defamation.
Reporter Lee is known to have personally purchased the luxury bags, luxury cosmetics, and wristwatch cameras used for filming that Pastor Choi gave to First Lady Kim. Both Pastor Choi and Reporter Lee claim they collaborated as part of undercover reporting. Reporter Lee is also the person who recorded and released a phone conversation with First Lady Kim.
The prosecution is accelerating the investigation into the related allegations after Prosecutor General Lee Wonseok ordered the formation of a dedicated investigation team for the luxury bag allegations earlier this month.
It has been confirmed that the prosecution has imposed a travel ban on Pastor Choi, who holds U.S. citizenship. The travel ban is a measure that prohibits foreigners from leaving the country.
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