A shaman accused of receiving a large sum of money to influence the nomination during the 2018 local elections may face arrest as early as March 9.
Jeongwon, a senior judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, will conduct an interrogation of the suspect at 2 p.m. on the same day, ahead of the possible arrest over allegations of violating the Political Fund Act.
The prosecution had initially requested an arrest warrant for the shaman, identified only by his surname Jeon, on Feb. 18. However, the court rejected the request the following day during a warrant review, citing insufficient details on the timing, scale and method of receiving illegal political funds.
In response, the prosecution summoned Jeon again on Feb. 26 for a supplementary investigation and reportedly secured additional evidence, including the suspect's destruction of evidence and potential risk of fleeing, to bolster the case for his arrest.
According to the prosecution, Jeon is suspected of receiving around 100 million won ($77,000) in illegal political funds, disguised as prayer money, from a candidate of the Liberty Korea Party (now the People Power Party) running for Yeongcheon mayor in North Gyeongsang Province ahead of the seventh nationwide simultaneous local elections in 2018.
The prosecution discovered a suspicious flow of funds related to Jeon while tracking the money trail of the scam coin, or fraudulent virtual currency, "Queen B-coin."
Prosecutors have obtained statements suggesting that "Jeon took the money, citing his friendship with People Power Rep. Yoon Han-hong," and are reportedly looking into whether Jeon was also involved in nominations for other regions. Yoon has denied any involvement with Jeon.
Jeon was previously suspected of using his reported friendship with President Yoon Suk-yeol and the first lady to pursue various interests. He was an active member of Yoon's candidate election camp during the 2022 presidential election and was also known to have served as an adviser to COVANA Content, a company run by First Lady Kim Keon-hee.
