The joint investigation headquarters on corruption involving collusion between religion and politics has begun an investigation, meeting with Yun Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church world headquarters, who has been identified as a key figure in alleged lobbying of the political community, and conducting a search and seizure of the area around Cheonjeonggung, known as the Unification Church's "holy land."
On the morning of the 15th, the joint headquarters visited the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, and is meeting with the former Deputy Minister Yun, who is accused of offering bribes and violating the Political Funds Act.
From 2018 to 2020, the former Deputy Minister Yun is accused of delivering cash worth tens of millions of won and luxury watches to former Minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo, former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lim Jong-seong, and former United Future Party (UFP) lawmaker Kim Gyu-hwan.
The former Deputy Minister Yun reportedly denied the allegations or said Yun did not remember, then acknowledged the delivery of money and valuables in a police interview on the 5th. The joint headquarters also met with the former Deputy Minister Yun on the 12th, the sixth day after its launch, and is said to have checked how the statements changed.
The next day, the joint headquarters reportedly carried out searches and seizures targeting the area around Cheonjeonggung in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi, and Unification Church associates, securing the PCs, servers, and cellphones of key figures.
The joint headquarters plans to call in the parties one by one as soon as it finishes analyzing the seized materials to determine the substance of the allegations.