▲ Jeon Seong-bae (R), a shaman known for his close ties to former first lady Kim Keon Hee (Yonhap)

court-shaman

Shaman linked to ex-first lady sentenced to 6 yrs in prison for taking bribes

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- A shaman known for his close ties to former first lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday for accepting bribes in exchange for favors for the Unification Church.

Jeon Seong-bae, better known as Geonjin, was indicted by special counsel Min Joong-ki's team on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation. The team had recommended a five-year prison term for Jeon.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence and ordered him to forfeit 180 million won (US$125,000), finding him guilty of accepting 80 million won worth of goods from a former Unification Church official, along with requests to support the church, in 2022.

Jeon colluded in the crime with Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the court said.

Jeon was also convicted of receiving 30 million won from the former church official while demanding a position as a church adviser in exchange for his mediation efforts, and separately receiving goods worth 200 million won from various businesses for his mediator role from 2022 to 2025.

The court, however, acquitted Jeon of charges that he took bribes from a provincial councilmember candidate in exchange for his help with securing the candidate nomination, noting that Jeon was not someone involved in politics, as required under the Political Funds Act.

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