The special counsel team on Kim Keon-hee (Special Counsel Min Joong-ki) on the 11th confirmed that the politicians former Unification Church world headquarters chief Yoon Young-ho said he gave money and valuables to numbered five from both the ruling and opposition parties. It expressed regret over criticism that it conducted a "biased investigation" by not investigating politicians from the Democratic Party.
Assistant Special Counsel Park No-su said at a briefing that day, "At the time of the August questioning, the individuals mentioned in former Deputy Minister Yoon's statement were not politicians from only one party but five politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties."
The special counsel team secured the related statement from former Deputy Minister Yoon in August but did not launch a formal investigation and left it only in an investigative report. It then assigned a preliminary inquiry (pre-booking investigation) case number. As controversy over a biased investigation grew, the team on the 9th transferred the preliminary inquiry case on the Unification Church's contacts with politicians to the National Office of Investigation (NOI) of the police.
The team's position is that it did not conduct further investigation because former Deputy Minister Yoon's statement did not fall under the scope of the special counsel act. Assistant Special Counsel Park said, "There was no disagreement within the investigative team that the matter in former Deputy Minister Yoon's statement was not subject to investigation under the special counsel act," adding, "We express strong regret over reports and claims suggesting that not investigating this matter amounts to a biased investigation for a specific party."
The statute of limitations for violating the Political Funds Act is seven years. For a case in which money and valuables were received in 2018, the statute of limitations will expire at the end of this year, making punishment difficult.