Yoon's Spouse Kim Gun-hee: "Brought 100 Million Won to Mother's Trial Witness but Not for Perjury Coaching... Tried to Reconcile"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol (left) and his spouse Kim Keon-hee [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The internet media outlet 'Newsbus,' which released an interview with Kim Gun-hee, spouse of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, known as 'Julie,' acknowledged that Kim admitted to visiting a key legal document specialist with 100 million won during a legal dispute between her mother and Mr. Jung 16 years ago but denied allegations of witness tampering.

Reporter Lee Jin-dong stated this on the 12th during an appearance on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,' explaining the circumstances that led to the exclusive interview with Kim Gun-hee.

When host Kim Eo-jun asked, "Did she admit to bringing 100 million won?" Lee replied, "She admitted to bringing 100 million won," adding, "However, the purpose of the 100 million won was not to demand false testimony but to mediate reconciliation."

The controversy over the 100 million won began with a lawsuit filed by former Prosecutor General Yoon's mother-in-law, Ms. Choi, against businessman Mr. Jung in 2003 over 5.3 billion won in investment profits from bonds related to a sports center in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

At that time, Mr. Jung claimed that based on an agreement signed with Ms. Choi in the presence of legal document specialist Mr. Baek, the profits should be split equally. Ms. Choi refused to pay, arguing the agreement was made under coercion, and Mr. Baek testified in the first trial that Ms. Choi's statement was correct.

Later, in the 2005 appeal trial, Mr. Baek changed his statement, saying he had committed perjury for compensation from Ms. Choi, but the court ultimately ruled in favor of Ms. Choi.

Reporter Lee claimed that Kim Gun-hee visited Mr. Baek shortly after his testimony reversal in May 2005 and offered 100 million won, but Mr. Baek refused to accept the money.

On the 12th, Lee Jin-dong, the publisher of the online media outlet 'Newsbus,' which released an interview with Kim Geon-hee, appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' to explain the circumstances of the interview with Ms. Kim. Photo by TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' YouTube channel capture.

Regarding this, Reporter Lee said he called Kim immediately after former Prosecutor General Yoon's presidential candidacy press conference to get answers about whether Kim indeed brought 100 million won and whether she requested perjury again.

During the call, Kim reportedly responded, "It is true that I brought 100 million won, but the purpose was to reconcile my estranged mother and legal document specialist Mr. Baek."

Lee said, "Kim questioned, 'Even if it is witness tampering, isn't the statute of limitations for the sports center-related lawsuit expired? So why bring it up now?'" He added, "While talking, she naturally mentioned 'Julie,' referring to past rumors, and spoke about it herself."

He continued, "Then I thought, these people must know about the statute of limitations. So they must have legally reviewed how long the statute of limitations is for witness tampering."

Meanwhile, 'Julie' is a name that appears in the so-called 'Yoon Seok-yeol X-file,' which contains allegations surrounding former Prosecutor General Yoon. It is known as the stage name Kim used when working as an entertainment hostess.

In response, a representative from former Prosecutor General Yoon's side said, "(Newsbus) had a private conversation and wrote an article," adding that they have no immediate plans to issue a separate statement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.