'Geonjinbeopsa' Jeon Seongbae Gets 6 Years in First Trial... "Brokerage Led to Religious-Political Collusion"

"Runs Counter to Constitutional Principle of Separation of Church and State"
Found Not Guilty of Political Funds Act Violation

Geonjinbeopsa Jeon Seongbae, who was put on trial on charges of receiving requests and money from the Unification Church, was sentenced to six years in prison in the first trial.

Geonjinbeopsa Jeon Seongbae appeared as a witness at the office of permanent special prosecutor An Kwonseop in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 19th of last month. Yonhap News

The 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jinkwan) on the 24th sentenced Jeon, who had been detained and indicted on charges of brokered bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violation of the Political Funds Act, to six years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of approximately 180 million won. Earlier, during the final hearing, Special Prosecutor Min Jungki's team had requested a five-year prison term.

The court stated, "As a result of the defendant's brokerage activities, there was collusion between former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife and the Unification Church," adding, "The Republic of Korea defines the separation of religion and state as a fundamental principle of the Constitution, and this outcome runs counter to that principle."

The court went on to say, "During the investigation, the defendant denied the crime by claiming that no money or valuables had been delivered, and as a result, a long period of investigation was wasted in order to determine whether the Chanel bag and other items were delivered to First Lady Kim Keon Hee through the defendant," and added that the submission of key evidence such as the Chanel bag during the trial could not be considered grounds for mitigation of the sentence.

The court found Jeon guilty of colluding with Kim and, between around April and July 2022, receiving money and valuables worth approximately 80 million won from former Unification Church World Headquarters Director Yoon Youngho, along with a request for support for the denomination. It also found him guilty of receiving a total of 30 million won from former Director Yoon during the same period in return for requests and brokerage, while demanding the position of "advisor to the Tongil Group."

The court likewise found him guilty of receiving various requests from companies and taking money and valuables amounting to 200 million won between July 2022 and January 2025.

However, the court found him not guilty of the charge of violating the Political Funds Act for allegedly receiving 100 million won from North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly member Park Changwook (then a candidate) around May 2022, ahead of the local elections, along with a request to secure a nomination from the People Power Party. The reason was that Jeon could not be regarded as a person engaged in politics, who is subject to the legal application of the charge. The court pointed out that the money Park gave him could not be considered "political funds" for Jeon's political activities.