Supreme Court Confirms 5-Year Prison Sentence for 'Geonjin Beopsa' Jeon Seong-bae Over Unification Church Solicitation Scandal

Jeon Seong-bae, a figure known as Geonjin Beopsa, has been sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring with Kim Keon-hee to accept bribes from the Unification Church in exchange for addressing the religious group's pending issues.

The Supreme Court's Third Division (Justice Roh Kyung-pil presiding) confirmed the lower court's ruling today (July 9), which sentenced Jeon to five years in prison on charges including violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (mediation of influence).

Jeon was indicted by a special prosecutor's team led by Min Joong-ki on charges of conspiring with Kim Keon-hee to receive approximately 80 million won in gifts, including a Chanel bag and a Graff diamond necklace, from a former official identified as Yoon between April and July 2022 in exchange for requests to support the religious group.

Both the first and second trial courts found the charges against him to be guilty.

In particular, the second trial court ruled that the Chanel bag, which was handed over in April 2022 just before the inauguration of former President Yoon, was "not a simple gift, but a reward for an implicit solicitation."

The first and second courts also found Jeon guilty of receiving a total of 30 million won from the former official Yoon between April and July 2022 while demanding a position as an "advisor to the Unification Group" in return for his mediation, as well as receiving 200 million won in bribes from various companies between July 2022 and January 2025 in exchange for favors.

However, the court acquitted him of charges of violating the Political Funds Act, which alleged that he received 100 million won from Park Chang-wook, a member of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Council (who was a candidate at the time), in May 2022 ahead of local elections in exchange for securing a nomination from the People Power Party.

The first trial court sentenced Jeon to six years in prison, which was heavier than the five-year sentence requested by the special prosecutor's team investigating Kim Keon-hee.

The second trial court upheld most of the guilty verdicts from the first trial but reduced the sentence to five years, citing as mitigating factors that Jeon confessed to some of the charges and submitted evidence, including the Chanel bag.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.