Former first lady Kim Keon Hee leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 12 after attending a detention warrant hearing.YONHAP
Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee denied all charges Friday at the first hearing for a case involving allegations that Unification Church members were mobilized to join the People Power Party (PPP).
“The special counsel’s claims have not been proven at all, and there is no evidence that the Unification Church influenced the party convention,” Kim’s attorneys said during the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court.
Kim is standing trial alongside Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, Jeon Seong-bae — a shaman known as Geon Jin — and others on charges of violating the Political Parties Act.
Kim was indicted by the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki on charges of conspiring with Jeon around November 2022 to ask Yun Young-ho, the Unification Church's then-World Headquarters chief, to have church members join the PPP en masse.
The special counsel team alleges that Kim wanted a candidate supportive of former President Yoon Suk Yeol to win the PPP national convention in March 2023, and promised support for the church in exchange for its members joining the party.
“There is no evidence, such as phone calls or text messages, showing that Kim directly asked Jeon or Yun to support a candidate in the leadership race or promised a proportional representation seat,” Kim’s attorneys said. “The only evidence consists of Yun’s statements and text messages exchanged between Jeon and Yun.”
The defense also said there was no evidence that the Unification Church influenced the March 2023 PPP national convention, or that Kim promised support for the church in exchange for member enrollment.
Jeon’s attorneys also denied the charges. Han, Yun and Han’s chief of staff were also indicted on charges of conspiring to force church members to join the party. All denied the allegations.
“Han never received a request like the one described in the indictment from Yun,” Han’s attorney said. “The only evidence is Yun’s statement, and that statement is also not credible.”
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee speaking as a witness during the insurrection trial of former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae at the court in southern Seoul on April 13.SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT/YONHAP
The special counsel team disputed the defendants’ claims, saying investigators had obtained the PPP’s membership roster and confirmed that numerous Unification Church members joined the party before the convention.
“We obtained evidence that the relevant developments were frequently reported to Yun, and testimony that Yun instructed church members to join the party andS vote,” the team said.
It also argued that the Unification Church had strongly supported Yoon Suk Yeol during the 2022 presidential election before intervening in the PPP leadership race.
“The Unification Church fully supported candidate Yoon Suk Yeol in the 20th presidential election and interfered in the party leadership election, distorting a political party’s democratic decision-making process and turning a National Assembly seat into an object of political bargaining,” the special counsel team said. “The motive and purpose of the crime themselves amount to interference in state affairs, and the social harm is severe.”
The court said it will hear witness testimony through Sept. 18 before beginning examinations of the defendants in October.
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.
