Anchor: A shaman linked to the Unification Church lobbying scandal has admitted for the first time to delivering luxury items to an aide of former first lady Kim Keon-hee, and a Seoul court will soon rule on whether to detain former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, who is accused of aiding last December’s martial law declaration.
Yun Sohyang has more.

Report: A shaman at the center of the Unification Church lobbying scandal has admitted in court that he delivered luxury items to former first lady Kim Keon-hee on behalf of the organization.

At his first trial hearing on Tuesday, shaman Jeon Seong-bae, better known as Geonjin Beopsa, said he had received a designer handbag and necklace from former Unification Church world headquarters director Yoon Young-ho and passed them on to Kim's then-secretary, Yoo Kyung-ok, in April and July of 2022.

Jeon had previously claimed to have lost one of the items, making the hearing the first time he'd acknowledged delivering it to the former first lady. The prosecution plans to conduct additional verification.

Meanwhile, a Seoul court will decide as early as Tuesday night whether to order the pretrial detention of Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, who prosecutors say assisted with former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s December 3 martial law declaration.

During a five-hour detention hearing before the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, Park denied any intent to destroy evidence.

Speaking briefly afterward, Park said he had sufficiently explained his position in court.

The special counsel team requested that Park be taken into custody last week on charges of aiding insurrection, abuse of authority and obstruction of rights.

Prosecutors say Park convened a meeting of senior justice ministry officials soon after Yoon's declaration and ordered the dispatch of prosecutors to the joint investigation headquarters created under military command.

He also stands accused of placing a team at the Korea Immigration Service on standby to enforce travel bans and ordering the Korea Correctional Service to look into detention centers' available capacity.

The special counsel submitted a 230-page opinion and 120 pages of supporting material arguing for Park’s detention.
Yun Sohyang, KBS World Radio News.