'Defendant' Kwon Seongdong Denies Charges at First Trial: "Never Received 100 Million Won"

Kwon Seongdong's First Trial on Alleged Receipt of 100 Million Won from Unification Church
Special Prosecutor: "State Corruption Through Political-Religious Collusion... Kwon Seongdong Was the Starting Point"

Kwon Sungdong, a lawmaker from the People Power Party who was indicted and detained on charges of receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from the Unification Church, denied the allegations at his first trial.

Yonhap News Agency

On November 3, the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo Inseong) held the first hearing on Kwon's alleged violation of the Political Funds Act. Lawmakers Yoon Hanhong and Park Hyungsu from the People Power Party were also present in the gallery during the trial.

Before the trial began, the court permitted photography in the courtroom, and images of Kwon sitting in the defendant's seat were released. Kwon, who appeared in court wearing a navy suit and white dress shirt, had a name tag pinned to his left chest displaying the inmate number "2961."

During the identification process, Kwon stated that his occupation is a member of the National Assembly and said he did not wish to have a jury trial.

Previously, Kwon was indicted and detained by the special prosecutor's team led by Min Junggi for allegedly receiving 100 million won in illegal political funds from Yoon Youngho, the former global director of the Unification Church, in exchange for requests to resolve church-related issues ahead of the 2022 presidential election.

At the trial, Kwon's legal team stated, "We acknowledge that Kwon met Yoon Youngho at a Chinese restaurant in Yeouido in January 2022, but we deny the prosecution's allegation that he received 100 million won in political funds."

Kwon's side argued, "The projects carried out by the Unification Church and Yoon Youngho against the government are unrelated to the defendant," and claimed, "The indictment violates the 'Indictment Principle,' which requires only the facts of the crime to be listed." In response, the special prosecutor's team countered, "All the content can be proven with objective evidence," and added, "This seems closer to a denial of the crime than a violation of the Indictment Principle."

The special prosecutor's team asserted that Kwon played a key role in the collusion between politics and religion. The team stated, "The defendant, a five-term lawmaker referred to as a 'Yoon core associate,' received 100 million won in political funds from Yoon Youngho, along with a promise to support the presidential election if the Unification Church was supported at the national level and by attending Unification Church events."

The team further added, "This case represents state corruption involving collusion between political power and a religious organization, with the defendant acting as the starting point by receiving 100 million won in cash."

In future hearings, Yoon Youngho and his wife, who is the former finance director of the Unification Church, as well as Mr. Jeong, chief secretary to Unification Church President Han Hakja, are scheduled to testify as witnesses. The court has scheduled the second hearing for November 21.