Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Prosecutors search ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's home for evidence linked to shaman
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee are seen in their vehicle as they leave the official presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul, April 11, to move to their private residence, following Yoon's ouster. Joint Press Corps
By Lee Hyo-jin
Probe into graft allegations zeroes in on former presidential couple
Prosecutors searched the Seoul residence of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday as part of an ongoing corruption investigation involving a spiritual adviser.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office sent investigators to seize evidence related to suspected lobbying and illicit financial exchanges between the former presidential couple and a shaman named Jeon Seong-bae, better known by his alias "Geonjin."
The disgraced former president and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, face multiple criminal charges, including corruption and election interference, but Wednesday’s operation marked the first time investigators searched their residence.
Jeon, 65, is under investigation on suspicion of receiving illegal political funds from candidates in the 2018 local elections. He was arrested in December 2024 on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, which governs how political parties and politicians can raise, manage and spend money for their activities.
The probe later expanded to include Yoon and Kim following revelations linking them to the case.
Jeon, who was reportedly involved in Yoon's election campaign during the 2022 presidential race, is suspected of exerting influence over personnel appointments and acting as an intermediary using his personal ties with the former first couple.
Prosecutors allege a former high-ranking Unification Church official, identified only by his surname, Yoon, delivered a diamond necklace worth 60 million won ($42,000) and an expensive handbag to Jeon shortly after Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May 2022. The items were reportedly intended as gifts for the former first lady.
Prosecutors are investigating whether the gifts were actually delivered to Kim. Jeon is said to have testified that he lost the necklace.
The investigators also suspect that the Unification Church official attempted to lobby the couple through Jeon in a bid to secure official development assistance (ODA) funding through the government for the church’s business projects in Cambodia.
At an event hosted by the religious group in May 2022, the official said that he had a private meeting with Yoon Suk Yeol, who was president-elect at the time, on March 22 of that year and discussed ODA issues.
In June 2022, the Ministry of Economy and Finance raised the ceiling for Economic Development Cooperation Fund loans to Cambodia from $700 million to $1.5 billion. A higher loan ceiling can simplify the approval process for candidate projects, making it easier for Korean businesses to secure contracts for ODA-related initiatives.
Police officers stand near the apartment complex in Seoul's Seocho District where former President Yoon Suk Yeol resides, as prosecutors search his home, Wednesday.
Yoon Suk Yeol, whom the Constitutional Court impeached on April 4, moved into his private residence in southern Seoul on April 11.
Although the residence is protected by security measures typically extended to former presidents, it is not classified as a facility requiring military or official secrecy under the Criminal Procedure Act, meaning there were no legal grounds to deny a search warrant.
The search lasted approximately six hours and 40 minutes. It also included the office of Kim’s former cultural company, Covana Contents, located near the residence, as well as the home of her aide. Kim’s personal computer and mobile phone were reportedly among the items seized.
Yoon’s lawyer said that the first lady is not a suspect but a witness in the case.
“The first lady is not a suspect. The search was conducted into a witness,” attorney Kim Gye-ri wrote on Facebook, claiming that the warrant "did not specify the date or location, nor did it state what and how it was given or under what pretext."
The liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized the search of Yoon’s residence by prosecutors as a “stunt” and called for a thorough investigation.
Liberal lawmakers have argued that prosecutors have been lenient toward Yoon, a former prosecutor general.
“If the prosecution is truly committed to an investigation, it must leave no sanctuary and thoroughly investigate all allegations,” DPK spokesperson Cho Seung-rae said in a statement.