Former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lim Jong-seong on the 18th denied allegations that he received money or valuables from the Unification Church, saying they were not true. Regarding the allegation that he received a luxury watch, he said, "I don't normally wear a watch."
After being acquitted in the appellate ruling on his Political Parties Act violation case at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, that day, Lim met with reporters outside the courtroom and said this.
When asked, "Did you receive money or valuables from the Unification Church?" Lim answered, "No, I did not." On his relationship with Unification Church World Headquarters Director Yoon Young-ho, he said, "I don't really know Yoon; I know someone else. But when I looked at the photos, I saw that we did take a picture together."
However, he said, "It wasn't the two of us taking a picture; I took one from a bit of a distance. I don't really know," adding, "If we had met one-on-one or in a group of three or four, I might have known, but if I don't know, I have to say I don't know."
Chun Jae-soo, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and former Minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, faces allegations that he received tens of millions of won in cash and a luxury watch from the Unification Church. Lim, responding to related questions, said, "Not at all. I don't normally wear a watch."
In February 2022, Lim co-hosted the Unification Church–related "Think Tank 2022 Korea Peace Summit & IAPP General Assembly with 157 countries that have diplomatic ties with both Koreas" in the main conference hall at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. The International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) is an organization founded by Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja.
On this, Lim said, "An acquaintance was the chair of the National Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (NCRC), and that person was (at) the National Unification Advisory Council under the Ministry of Unification, and asked me to host the event, and inter-Korean unification is a priority for our party, so I hosted it." He added, "I wasn't well aware of any connection with the Unification Church."
Regarding the Japan–Korea undersea tunnel, a long-held project of the Unification Church, he said, "It wasn't that I was very interested; I just thought, so this exists too, and I attended two events."
Lim, along with fellow party members former lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok and lawmaker Heo Jong-sik, was indicted on charges of receiving envelopes of cash during the Democratic Party of Korea's 2021 convention and received suspended prison sentences at the first trial, but all were acquitted in the appellate ruling that day. The court found that the mobile phone recordings of former Democratic Party of Korea deputy secretary-general Lee Jung-geun were illegally obtained and did not admit them as evidence.