South Korea prosecutors arrest shaman allegedly involved in President Yoon’s 2022 election campaign
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The authorities clarified that this investigation was separate to that of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law imposition or alleged charges.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – Local reports said President Yoon Suk Yeol could potentially face another political scandal amid the ongoing martial law turmoil
The prosecution announced that its joint investigation unit on virtual asset crimes arrested the 64-year-old shaman surnamed Jeon, who is widely known as Geon Jin and reportedly close to Mr Yoon and his wife, and initiated a search and seizure operation at his house.
Mr Jeon’s two smartphones secured from the operation are being examined by the prosecution.
The authorities clarified that the investigation involving Mr Jeon was separate to that of Mr Yoon’s martial law imposition or alleged charges.
Mr Jeon has faced controversies over his alleged connections to Mr Yoon during his presidential campaign. Some have speculated that the shaman played a significant behind-the-scenes role, effectively acting as the de facto leader of Mr Yoon’s campaign team.
Local reports have published photos captured from a video that show Mr Jeon introducing campaign staff to Mr Yoon, during his visit to the office of a networking subcommittee within the election campaign committee in 2022.
While guiding Mr Yoon to the office, multiple physical and verbal gestures were made by Mr Jeon. Lawmakers from the campaign team of Mr Yoon’s rival, Lee Jae-myung, had urged voters to stop supporting the conservative candidate at the time, accusing Mr Yoon of being wielded by shamanism.
Representative Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, condemned Mr Yoon, saying that he would not be able to make state decisions based on shamanism.
The People Power Party (PPP) had refuted the allegation, claiming Mr Jeon was not involved in an advisory role of the networking subcommittee. The party also announced that Mr Jeon worked as a manager for part of a Buddhist organisation under the Jogye Order and is not a shaman.
The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism – the largest Buddhist sect in Korea – refuted these claims, saying that it has no member matching Mr Jeon’s name and birthdate.
The People Power Party later changed its stance after reports revealed that the shaman had served as an adviser to Covana Content, an exhibition planning company previously managed by Mr Yoon’s wife Kim Keon Hee. The PPP then stated that Mr Jeon was a close acquaintance of both Mr Yoon and Ms Kim.
In an attempt to put the controversy to rest, the People Power Party decided to disband the networking subcommittee in January 2022.
Mr Yoon experienced growing political isolation with multiple political scandals, particularly one involving Mr Myung Tae-kyun. In October, the self-proclaimed power broker caught public attention over allegations of interfering in candidate nominations in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections through his ties with then presidential candidate Yoon.
Mr Myung, who runs a public polling agency, is suspected of receiving approximately 90 million won (S$84,500) from Ms Kim Myung-sun, a former People Power Party lawmaker, in exchange for securing the nomination for her. He is also suspected of receiving money from Ms Kim for conducting customised polls in favour of then PPP presidential candidate Yoon.
“Mr Myung revealed that he received money from Ms Kim twice, but he said it was not a quid pro quo between him and her,” the prosecution said after conducting an investigation in mid-November.
Meanwhile, the opposition-led National Assembly passed a Bill to mandate a special counsel probe into two key allegations involving First Lady Kim’s involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and interference in election nominations through Mr Myung on Dec 10.
The Bill marked the assembly’s fourth attempt to probe the First Lady after similar proposals were vetoed by Mr Yoon. THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
