A shaman with close ties to Kim Keon-hee admitted that he had spoken to the former first lady on the phone after delivering luxury gifts to her aide in 2022. 

Shaman Geon Jin, whose real name is Jeon Seong-bae, gave the testimony in his bribery trial at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday.

Prosecutors are attempting to prove in this trial that Jeon delivered luxury gifts to Kim from the Unification Church as an intermediary, constituting brokerage bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes as well as violating the Political Funds Act.

When asked why he'd changed course after testifying earlier that he'd been unable to deliver the luxury gifts to Kim after misplacing them, Jeon said he has decided to tell the truth in court and properly face punishment.

The shaman said, however, that he could not recall whether he had consulted with Kim or someone close to her during the investigation.

Pressed on why the gifts were eventually returned to him, Jeon said the proposal had come from Kim's side and that the former first lady might've been concerned that accepting the gifts could cause problems later on.