Junsungbae Jeon Sentenced to 5 Years for Corruption Tied to Yoon Suk Yeol and Unification Church

Junsungbae Jeon, known as the "Ganjin Beopsa," was sentenced to five years in prison for accepting bribes from the Unification Church and other groups by leveraging his connection with Kim Geon-hee. The court ruled that Jeon relayed requests to former President Yoon Suk Yeol through Kim, indicating a collusion between religion and politics. However, his acknowledgment of the bribes during the special investigation and his submission of key evidence were considered mitigating factors.

On May 21, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Judges Kim Mu-shin, Lee Woo-hee, and Yoo Dong-kyun) sentenced Jeon to five years in prison for charges of intermediary bribery and violations of political funding laws. The court also ordered the confiscation of a Graff necklace and the return of approximately 1.8 billion won. This sentence is one year less than the six-year term imposed in the first trial.

The court upheld most of the intermediary bribery charges against Jeon, stating, "The defendant used his personal relationship with Kim Geon-hee to exert influence over members of the National Assembly and high-ranking government officials after Yoon Suk Yeol was elected, pursuing his own interests in the process."

The court further noted, "Jeon acted as an intermediary by relaying requests from the Unification Church to former President Yoon through Kim Geon-hee, resulting in a collusion between Yoon and the Unification Church that undermined the constitutional principle of separation of church and state."

In the appeal, Jeon was found guilty of accepting bribes worth approximately 83 million won, including two Chanel bags and a Graff diamond necklace from former Unification Church leader Yoon Young-ho between April and July 2022. The court specifically identified the Chanel bag worth 8.02 million won delivered in April 2022 as "not merely a gift but a reward for implicit requests."

The judges explained, "At that time, Kim Geon-hee was in a position that could be perceived as having influence over presidential duties, making it reasonable to view the gifts from the Unification Church as expectations of assistance regarding presidential responsibilities."

Jeon was also found guilty of receiving 30 million won from Yoon Young-ho in exchange for requesting a position as an advisor to the Unification Group. Additionally, he was convicted of accepting 160 million won from ConLab Company under the pretext of facilitating business initiatives and 45 million won for suppressing a tax investigation related to Hee-rim Architecture.

However, the court considered Jeon's partial confession during the trial and his voluntary submission of key evidence to the special prosecutor's team as factors in determining his sentence. The judges stated, "The defendant provided crucial testimony that clarified the crimes during Kim Geon-hee's trial, which qualifies as a mitigating factor under the special prosecutor law."

While the first trial denied any mitigating circumstances due to Jeon's denial of charges during the investigation, the appeals court overturned this, stating, "The fact that he made statements during the investigation that differed from those in court is not explicitly stated as a reason to exclude mitigating circumstances."

Conversely, Jeon was acquitted of charges related to receiving 100 million won for assisting Park Chang-wook's candidacy for the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council during the 2022 local elections, consistent with the first trial's ruling.

The court acknowledged that Jeon was active in the Yoon Suk Yeol campaign's network but concluded that it was difficult to classify him as a "political person" under political funding laws after the presidential election.