Who is the mysterious shaman with alleged ties with Yoon?

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Who is the mysterious shaman with alleged ties with Yoon?

Published: 30 Apr. 2025, 17:34 Updated: 02 May. 2025, 14:35

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Jeon Seong-bae, center, arrives for questioning at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, on Dec. 19, 2024. [YONHAP]

Following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's removal from office by the Constitutional Court on April 4, prosecutors have stepped up their investigation into allegations that he relied on a shaman named Geon Jin for advice during his 2022 election campaign and afterward.

However, the exact nature of the shaman’s ties to Yoon and other politicians remains shrouded in mystery.

The 65-year-old Geon Jin — whose legal name is Jeon Seong-bae — is a member of the Ilgwang Jogye Order, an offshoot of Korea’s largest stream of Buddhism, the Jogye Order.

The Ilgwang sect is believed to have been founded by the monk Hye Woo, who was expelled from the Jogye Order after quarreling with other members.

According to domestic media reports, Jeon regards Hye Woo as his mentor.

As scrutiny into the Ilgwang sect mounted during Yoon’s impeachment process, Hye Woo vanished from public view, leading to speculation that he is trying to avoid questioning by prosecutors over his ties to Jeon and the now-ousted president.

Prosecutors suspect that Jeon was involved in Yoon’s presidential campaign before his election in March 2022.

Jeon allegedly also served as an adviser at the conservative People Power Party’s (PPP) campaign headquarters in the lead-up to the election.

According to multiple reports, Jeon boasted of his personal ties to Yoon and former first lady Kim Keon Hee to those seeking access to the couple.

In January 2022, reports surfaced that a construction firm that sponsored exhibitions run by Kim’s company, Kovana Contents, also donated 100 million won ($70,400) to a foundation owned by Jeon in 2017.

Hyolim H.F., a company that was run by former PPP lawmaker Han Moo-kyung until 2020, also made a donation to Jeon’s foundation in 2017.

Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman also known as Geon Jin, left, and then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol, right, appear together at Yoon's campaign office in a YouTube video. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Jeon was detained by prosecutors last December over suspicions that the bequests to his foundation were actually illegal political contributions.

Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker with ties to the first couple, also mentioned Jeon in a recording of a conversation with an acquaintance over the phone in July 2022.

In the tape, Myung can be heard saying that Jeon helped an unspecified candidate for office get on the PPP’s ticket.

Prosecutors have also questioned Jeon regarding allegations that he was tasked by a former Unification Church figure with delivering a diamond necklace worth 60 million won to the former first lady.

A still-sealed bundle of 50,000 won notes discovered at Jeon Seong-bae's residence during a raid by prosecutors in December last year [SCREEN CAPTURE]

According to domestic media reports, Jeon told prosecutors that he intended to deliver the necklace to Kim but “lost it” before he could give it to her.

Law enforcement are also investigating how Jeon came to be in possession of 50 million won in banknotes issued just three days after Yoon’s inauguration.

The cash was still sealed inside plastic bundles used by the Bank of Korea at the time of its discovery by prosecutors who raided a hiding place used by Jeon in December.

A bank official later said such bundles are only delivered to commercial banks and should not be in the possession of an individual.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]