[Exclusive] Kim Keonhee Special Prosecutor Team Conducts Simultaneous Raids on Unification Church Cheongpyeong Holy Ground Including Cheonjeonggung

First Compulsory Investigation of the Unification Church in the "Geonjin Beopsa Gate" Scandal

The special investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Min Junggi, which is probing various allegations surrounding former President Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keonhee, has launched a comprehensive search and seizure operation targeting the Unification Church in connection with the so-called "Geonjin Beopsa Gate." This is the first time the special prosecutor's team has directly targeted the Unification Church with a search and seizure.

Starting on the morning of July 18, the special prosecutor's team dispatched prosecutors and investigators to Cheonjeonggung Palace in Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, as well as to Cheongpyeong Holy Ground and other locations where Unification Church-affiliated businesses are concentrated, to secure related materials.

Jeon Seongbae, known as Geonjin Beopsa, is suspected of having received gifts such as a diamond necklace and a Chanel bag from the Unification Church between April and August 2022, which were intended as presents for Kim Keonhee. He is also alleged to have conveyed requests regarding Unification Church interests to her.

The individual who delivered the gifts and requests to Jeon was identified as Yoon, a former global headquarters executive of the Unification Church. According to the special prosecutor, Yoon is believed to have asked Jeon to relay requests for support for the Unification Church's Mekong River development project in Cambodia, the acquisition of YTN, the bid to host the United Nations Fifth Secretariat in Korea, and invitations to the presidential inauguration ceremony.

The special prosecutor's team is focusing on clarifying the relationship between Kim Keonhee and Jeon, as well as whether Jeon actually delivered the Unification Church's gifts and requests to Kim Keonhee. In addition, the team plans to verify allegations that Jeon received large sums of money under the pretext of "prayer fees" and lobbied for nominations and appointments for influential political figures.

Previously, on July 8, the special prosecutor's team sent investigators to the National Office of Investigation of the National Police Agency to conduct a search and seizure in connection with suspicions of an attempted cover-up of the Unification Church investigation. The core allegation is that although the police investigated Unification Church executives for overseas gambling, the case was allegedly covered up with Jeon's assistance.

The special prosecutor's team has formed a separate investigative unit for the Geonjin Beopsa Gate case and is concentrating its resources by bringing in prosecutors from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption Division and the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's Joint Virtual Asset Crime Investigation Team.