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Special probe team receives luxury items allegedly given to ex-first lady in exchange for favors

Published: 22 Oct. 2025, 16:45

Kim Keon Hee exits the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul after completing a hearing session for her arrest warrant on Aug. 12. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A special investigation team said Wednesday that it has secured luxury items allegedly given to former first lady Kim Keon Hee by the Unification Church in exchange for favors related to church affairs.

The team, led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, received the items through Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman known as Geon Jin, who allegedly acted as a middleman in the exchange, according to assistant special counsel Park Sang-jin.

“The special counsel’s office received, through Jeon’s attorney on Tuesday afternoon, a Graff necklace worth about 62.2 million won [$43,500], along with one pair of Chanel shoes and three Chanel handbags that Kim received and later exchanged,” Park said.

“We confirmed that the serial numbers match. We plan to clarify how the items were delivered, returned and kept, including by requesting additional witnesses in the related trial.”

The seized items were reportedly gifts from Yoon Young-ho, then head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, who has been indicted and detained. Investigators believe that between April and July 2022, Yoon gave the luxury goods to Kim through Jeon in exchange for help with church matters.

From the start of the probe, the special counsel sought to trace the whereabouts of the Graff necklace and Chanel bags, but could not find definitive evidence proving they reached the former first lady.

Jeon told investigators he “lost the necklace soon after receiving it” and that he “exchanged two Chanel bags for different items and later lost them as well.”

On that basis, prosecutors charged Jeon with brokerage bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, naming Kim as a coconspirator.

However, Jeon recently changed his testimony in court, providing what prosecutors described as a new lead. In a written statement submitted to the court, Jeon’s side reportedly asserted that the valuables ultimately went to Kim, not Jeon.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HY-JEONG [[email protected]]