Kim Gunhee's Fourth Trial Held on the 24th
Kim Youngsun: "Yoon Had Not Consolidated Control Over the Party at the Time"
Geomancer Jeon Seongbae: "Delivered Chanel Bag to Kim Gunhee"
Former lawmaker Kim Youngsun, who appeared as a witness in the trial of First Lady Kim Gunhee on charges including "interference in party nominations," asserted, "I never asked political broker Myung Taegyun to help me secure a nomination."
Kim made this statement while testifying as a witness at the trial of Kim Gunhee, who faces charges of manipulating Deutsche Motors stock and interfering in party nominations, held at the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Woo Inseong) on this day.
Kim Gunhee is accused of having exercised her influence to ensure that Kim Youngsun was nominated as a candidate in the June 1, 2022, parliamentary by-election in return for receiving public opinion surveys worth a total of 270 million won free of charge from Myung in the run-up to the 2022 presidential election.
However, Kim Youngsun claimed that at the time, there was no choice but for her to be nominated. She stated, "The heads of local governments who applied for the nomination at the time were excluded, and I was the only strong candidate," adding, "There was also criticism that there were too few women on the transition committee, and given the various circumstances, there was no one else to nominate. However, due to checks from certain politicians, I heard that the nomination was ultimately decided by a vote."
Kim also argued that former President Yoon Sukyeol and his wife did not intervene in the nomination process through Assemblyman Yoon Sanghyun, who was then the head of the People Power Party's nomination committee. When the special prosecutor's team asked, "It appears you received a strategic nomination because Assemblyman Yoon strongly expressed his opinion about your nomination. What do you think?" Kim replied, "Usually, if a politician exerts influence, they call to let you know, but Assemblyman Yoon never called me," and added, "At that time, former President Yoon had just been elected and had not yet consolidated control over the party."
When the special prosecutor's team disclosed a message in which Myung reportedly asked the former president and his wife to "help Kim Youngsun," Kim responded, "Nominations are decided among the nomination committee members," and said, "That is just Myung Taegyun's opinion and has nothing to do with the actual nomination process."
Before attending the trial, Kim Youngsun held a press conference, stating, "I made great efforts to help candidate Yoon Sukyeol settle into the People Power Party," and emphasized the legitimacy of the nomination process by saying, "At that time, Yoon had just joined the party and was running for president, so the main issue was each person's contribution to the presidential election."
Geomancer Jeon Seongbae Testifies: "Delivered Chanel Bag to Kim Gunhee"
Meanwhile, Jeon Seongbae, the geomancer, also appeared as a witness at Kim Gunhee's trial on this day. When asked by the special prosecutor's team whether he had delivered a Chanel bag, received from former director Yoon, to the defendant, Jeon replied, "I delivered it."
Jeon Seongbae, a geomancer accused of acting as a channel for various solicitations to Kim Gunhee, is entering the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the Minjungki Special Prosecutor's Office is located on August 18, 2025. Photo by Yoon Dongju
Previously, the special prosecutor's team announced that, through Jeon's lawyer, they had received and confiscated one Graff necklace worth 62.2 million won, one pair of Chanel shoes that Kim Gunhee received and later exchanged, and three Chanel bags.
The items secured by the special prosecutor's team were given to Kim Gunhee by Yoon, the former worldwide head of the Unification Church, through Jeon between April and July 2022, while making requests regarding church matters. Although the special prosecutor's team had been tracking the whereabouts of the Chanel bag and the Graff necklace since the beginning of the investigation, they were not found during searches of Kim Gunhee's residence at Acrovista in Seocho-gu or the office of Covana Contents, which she operated.
Jeon had previously denied receiving or delivering the items, but it has recently been confirmed that he submitted a statement to the court in his own trial, admitting, "I received valuables from the Unification Church and delivered them to Kim Gunhee's side, and later received the items and exchanged goods back."
Jeon stated that last year, he was contacted by Kim Gunhee's side, who said they would return the items. He said, "Former administrator Yoo told me to come and collect them, so my brother-in-law went and picked them up," adding, "After getting them back, I kept them at home."
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