'First Special Prosecutor Appearance for Pastor Choi Jae-yeong Over 'Kim Keon-hee's Dior Bag Gift'... 'Insufficient Prosecution Investigation' [Yonhap News photo]

Pastor Choi Jae-yeong, who was indicted for allegedly giving a luxury bag to First Lady Kim Keon-hee in exchange for favor-seeking, has been sentenced to four months in prison.

The special prosecutor's team, led by Prosecutor General Min Jung-ki, requested this sentence on the 20th at the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 21 (presided by Judge Jo Soon-pyo) during the hearing for the case of First Lady Kim, who is accused of receiving bribes for soliciting favors under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The request was for the court to sentence Pastor Choi, who was indicted as the giver.

The special prosecutor's team stated to the court, "The defendant has admitted to all charges, but we ask that you consider the fact that the recipient of the favors held a significant position and that the incident caused public outcry."

Pastor Choi's legal representative argued in response, "While we cannot deny the violation of the law, unlike typical violations of the prohibition of soliciting favors, this case involved the purpose of entrapment journalism. Given that this incident led to the revelation of various criminal acts by the then-First Lady, the motive of entrapment journalism should be taken into account."

The defense also emphasized that Pastor Choi's confession to the crime, as well as his active urging of the prosecution to indict him, should be considered.

The sentencing and final closing arguments on this day took place after Pastor Choi's defense team confessed to all criminal acts, leading the court to close the proceedings.

During the previous hearing on the 17th, the proceedings were also closed for Lee Bong-kwang, chairman of Seohee E&C, who was indicted alongside for allegedly giving expensive accessories to First Lady Kim in exchange for illicit favors.

The court has set the sentencing date for these individuals to be determined later, and plans to continue with the trials of other defendants, including First Lady Kim, robot dog businessman Seo Seong-bin, and former National Education Committee Chairperson Lee Bae-yong.

Witness testimony will be heard for Chairman Lee at the next hearing on the 26th.

Pastor Choi was indicted without detention in December last year on charges of giving First Lady Kim a Dior bag worth a total of 5.4 million won, along with seeking favors related to public officials' duties, between June 20, 2022, and September 13, 2022. First Lady Kim was charged with soliciting favors under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

This suspicion surfaced in November 2023 when the online media outlet The Voice of Seoul released a "hidden camera" video showing Pastor Choi delivering the bag.

The Voice of Seoul filed a complaint against First Lady Kim in December of the same year, but the prosecution dismissed the charges against her in October of the following year. The Voice of Seoul's appeal led to the case being transferred by the prosecution to the special prosecutor's team last year.