[News Today] Necklace funded by church? Probe expands

[LEAD]
The special probe into the bribery allegations surrounding the former First Lady Kim Keon-hee is picking up speed.

You will recall, the lavish handbag and necklace that had been allegedly gifted to the former first lady by a figure linked to the Unification Church.

Now, the special counsel is zeroing in on the real source of the money and the motive behind the gesture.

Fresh evidence seized in a recent raid suggests the church quietly settled the bill — raising serious questions about backdoor dealings.

[REPORT]
The Unification Church's former global headquarters chief surnamed Yun.

In 2022 he handed over two luxury bags and a diamond necklace worth over 60 million won to Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman known as Geonjin Beopsa.

He said the gifts were for then-first lady Kim Keon-hee.

The Unification Church says it was Yun's personal act and flatly denied it provided the initial funds for purchasing the necklace.

But sources say the special counsel team investigating Kim Keon-hee has found evidence proving otherwise.

During the search and seizure conducted last Friday investigators found a necklace receipt and a draft submitted for accounting.

The special counsel believes Yun first paid for the necklace and later submitted the receipt and the draft explaining the purpose of his purchase to the church's global headquarters.

The investigators suspect that the church later gave him the amount cost to purchase the gift.

The special counsel team has also obtained and are currently analyzing the church's accounting data of the past three years.

The team believes that if the church did pay for the gifts, it can be charged with trying to solicit Kim Keon-hee's support for the Unification Church's development project on the Mekong River in Cambodia and the acquisition of YTN.

The investigators have summoned Yun for the first time to interrogate him about the source of funds and the purpose of the gifts.

Oh Jung-hee / Special counsel on Kim Keon-hee case
We summoned Yun, who headed the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification global HQs, as a suspect and began questioning him about Geonjin Beopsa allegations at 9:40.

The special counsel team is also looking for the whereabouts of the gifts in question.