Written Statement of Non-Attendance Cites "Sufficient Testimony in Previous Questioning"
Special Prosecutor's Investigation Extended Until October 24
Full-Scale Probe into Alleged Cover-Up of Secretary's Child's School Violence Begins
The special prosecutor team led by Min Jungki, which is investigating various allegations against Kim Keonhee, announced on September 23 that it had planned to conduct a second round of questioning of Kwon Seongdong, a member of the People Power Party, after his detention. However, the session did not take place.
Kwon Seongdong, a member of the People Power Party, who has been indicted on charges of accepting illegal political funds and had an arrest warrant requested, attended the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 9th, where his arrest consent bill was reported, greeting fellow lawmakers. 2025.9.9 Photo by Kim Hyunmin
Special Prosecutor Kim Hyeonggeun stated at a regular briefing that "Kwon Seongdong, who was scheduled to appear for questioning at 2 p.m., submitted a letter explaining his absence and did not attend, so the investigation could not proceed." It was reported that Assemblyman Kwon submitted a statement of absence claiming he had already provided sufficient testimony during the previous two sessions.
Kwon Seongdong was detained on September 16 on charges of receiving 100 million won from the Unification Church in exchange for various favors, and underwent his first round of questioning after detention on September 18. Prior to his detention, he had also been questioned by the special prosecutor team once on August 27.
The special prosecutor team had planned to summon Assemblyman Kwon to focus on whether any additional funds, beyond the 100 million won received from the Unification Church, had changed hands. With the session not taking place, the team is reportedly considering an additional summons.
Han Hakja, President of the Unification Church, who is accused of delivering 100 million won in illegal political funds to Assemblyman Kwon, was detained on the same day. With Han’s detention, the investigation is expected to accelerate into allegations that she handed a shopping bag containing money to Kwon and that, ahead of the 2023 People Power Party convention, a large number of Unification Church members were recruited to support Kwon’s bid for party leadership.
The special prosecutor team also announced that the investigation period would be extended by 30 days, until October 24. According to the special prosecutor law, the Kim Keonhee special investigation can be extended twice by 30 days each after an initial 90-day period. Previously, the special investigations into the insurrection and the death of Private Chae Sangbyeong were also extended.
This Week: Full-Scale Investigation into Alleged Cover-Up of Secretary’s Child’s School Violence
In addition, the special prosecutor team will begin a full-scale investigation this week into allegations that Kim Keonhee was involved in covering up a school violence case involving the child of Kim Seunghee, former Presidential Office Protocol Secretary.
Special Prosecutor Kim stated, "We plan to summon the secretary of the school violence committee for questioning this week, marking the start of a full-scale investigation." The team has also obtained necessary documents from relevant institutions, including the Seongnam Office of Education, to verify whether there was any undue external pressure from Kim Keonhee or others.
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