The joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters, which is currently investigating alleged collusion between religious groups and politics, has carried out another search and seizure of Shincheonji over suspected "party membership enrollment." The task force is also set to conduct an interview investigation of Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, who is being held at a detention center, on the same day.
According to legal sources on the 11th, the task force on the morning of the same day sent an investigative team to the Shincheonji general assembly headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to execute a search and seizure warrant. This follows a sweeping search and seizure in Jan. of the general assembly headquarters and the residence of General Assembly Chair Lee Man-hee, among others, and is said to be aimed at securing additional materials.
Shincheonji and General Assembly Chair Lee, among others, are suspected of forcing followers to enroll as responsible members of the People Power Party with the intent to influence the results of the party's 20th presidential primary in 2021 and the 22nd general election primary in 2024. The task force believes they disrupted the People Power Party's normal party member management and primary decision-making processes through these actions and has booked them as suspects on charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstructing business, and is currently investigating.
During earlier questioning of former Shincheonji executives, the task force is said to have obtained statements that Shincheonji encouraged followers to enroll as party members under a project named "Pilates," resulting in tens of thousands of followers joining as responsible members of the People Power Party. There were also reported internal testimonies that, after Gyeonggi Province's compulsory epidemiological investigation and a police investigation during the COVID-19 period worsened relations between the progressive camp and Shincheonji, Shincheonji sought to exert political influence through the conservative camp.
The task force has repeatedly summoned former and current Shincheonji officials for questioning, identifying recordings of General Assembly Chair Lee and associates and the contents of directives on party membership enrollment. Last month, it also carried out a search and seizure at the People Power Party headquarters to verify the actual party membership list.
The task force also plans to conduct an interview investigation of Han on the same day. Han is suspected of involvement in bribery lobbying targeting lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties.
Previously, former Unification Church World Headquarters chief Yoon Young-ho claimed that from 2018 to 2020 he provided money and valuables worth tens of millions of won to lawmaker Chun Jae-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea, former Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Jong-seong, and former United Future Party (UFP) lawmaker Kim Gyu-hwan, among others. In early 2019, allegations also arose that illegal political donations were systematically provided to politicians from both camps. The method, known as "split donations," involved making donations under individuals' names and then being reimbursed with funds from a Unification Church corporation.
Prosecutors earlier indicted former Universal Peace Federation (UPF) chair Song Kwang-seok on charges of donating 13 million won in corporate funds to the support committees of 11 lawmakers, and they are said to view him as having colluded with Han.