Minister Jeon Jae-soo of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries pushed back against reports of alleged cash and gifts from the Unification Church, saying, "All allegations of cash and gift taking directed at me are entirely false, and not a single one is true."
The former lawmaker said on the 9th on his Facebook page, "I have never received any cash or gifts, including from the Unification Church, anywhere—whether in my legislative activities or in my private life."
Jeon said, "Dressing up baseless statements as fact and spreading them is an obvious fabrication, and a grave criminal act that directly damages my honor and the public trust in my office," adding, "Without any exception, I will hold them fully accountable to the end through every legal means."
Earlier in the day, a news outlet reported that a special counsel's investigative report on allegations that the Unification Church delivered money and goods to Democratic Party lawmakers included the Minister's name. According to the report, former Unification Church World Headquarters head Yoon Young-ho told the special counsel that between 2018 and 2020 he delivered to the Minister a cash box containing tens of millions of won and two luxury watches.
Meanwhile, the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki on the day referred the "Unification Church–Democratic Party cash-and-gifts allegations" case to the Korean National Police Agency National Office of Investigation (NOI). It came about four months after the special counsel team learned of the case through Yoon's statement. In legal circles, some noted this may be an attempt to pass the buck belatedly ahead of the statute of limitations expiring. Considering the seven-year statute of limitations for violations of the Political Funds Act, the alleged 2018 cash-and-gifts case expires at the end of this year.