The joint police-prosecution investigation headquarters, currently investigating alleged collusion between a religious group and political circles, is raiding the People Power Party headquarters and other locations in connection with allegations that members of Shincheonji joined the party.
According to legal sources on the 27th, the task force began a raid in the morning at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, and is securing related materials such as the party membership roster. The subcontractor that manages the party roster is also said to be among the targets of the search.
The task force is investigating allegations that Shincheonji encouraged its believers to join the People Power Party as members to influence the party's 2021 presidential primary and the party's 2024 National Assembly primary.
During questioning of former Shincheonji executives, the task force is said to have obtained statements that, under a project called "Pilates," Shincheonji encouraged believers to join the party, resulting in tens of thousands of believers enrolling as dues-paying members of the People Power Party. It is also reported to have secured testimony that Shincheonji's leadership urged party enrollment, saying, "We must repay Yoon Suk-yeol."
The task force views this party enrollment as obstructing the People Power Party's membership management and primary decision-making, and is currently investigating while considering charges of violating the Political Parties Act and interfering with business.
Earlier, on the 27th, the task force also conducted searches and seizures at Shincheonji's General Assembly headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and at the Peace Training Center (Palace of Peace) in Goseong-ri, Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi.
Shincheonji maintains that the allegations of party membership and interference in primaries are not true. In a statement, Shincheonji said, "With the consent of our congregants, we are willing to provide the church membership roster," and argued, "Conduct a simultaneous joint investigation into the congregant roster and the party membership rosters of each party, including the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party."
It also said, "If political collusion actually existed, the current situation—where even church facilities lawfully purchased cannot be used as religious facilities—cannot be explained."