The joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters on alleged collusion between religion and politics, led by High Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon, wrapped up its work after about eight months of investigation by indicting 32 people, including Lee Man-hee, head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and Han Hak-ja, president of the Unification Church.

In a press notice on the 31st, the task force said that since its launch on Jan. 6 this year, it has investigated criminal allegations related to violations of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state by Shincheonji and the Unification Church, and indicted 32 people, including 16 affiliated with Shincheonji and 16 with the Unification Church.

Lee Man-hee, head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), who is suspected of ordering more than 50,000 believers to collectively join the People Power Party around the 20th presidential election and the 22nd general election, appears for a pre-arrest warrant hearing on charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstruction of business at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon in June. /Courtesy of News1

In relation to Shincheonji, the task force said it has investigated: ▲ the case of forcing members to join a specific political party ▲ the case ▲ the case of former general affairs chief Go embezzling funds ▲ the case of interfering in a specific party's primary, indicting four people including Lee in custody and 12 without detention.

Lee was indicted and detained on June 29 on charges of systematically forcing believers to join a specific political party by, among other things, assigning target recruitment numbers to each tribe ahead of the 20th presidential election in 2021. Former general affairs chief Go was indicted and detained on July 13 on charges of conspiring with Lee ahead of the 8th local elections in Dec. 2021 to force believers to join.

According to the task force, from June 2021 to April last year, Shincheonji mobilized tens of thousands of believers to have them join en masse as members of a specific party at specific times, and it was confirmed that some joined against their free will.

In Go's case, charges were also applied for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, alleging the embezzlement of about 6 billion won in church funds, including arbitrarily using cash withdrawn from Shincheonji finances under false pretenses.

Han Hak-ja, president of the Unification Church, who is indicted over alleged church-state collusion with the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, appears for a closing hearing on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Jul. 10. /Courtesy of News1

For the Unification Church, ▲ the illegal political fundraising case ▲ the Unification Church fund embezzlement case ▲ the alleged case were key targets of the task force's investigation.

According to the task force, from March 2019 to January last year, the Unification Church made illegal donations totaling about 189 million won from organizational funds to 132 politicians, including members of the National Assembly, across 219 instances.

Three people who led the offenses, including former Unification Church world headquarters chief Yun Young-ho and former International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) Chair Song Kwang-seok, were indicted without detention on the 10th on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act. Six others who took part, including district leaders, were subjected to a summary order request.

In connection with the Unification Church fund embezzlement case, President Han and chief of staff Jeong Won-ju, along with former Deputy Minister Yun, were indicted without detention. They are accused of siphoning off about 10.5 billion won in church funds through false accounting from 2017 to May last year and hiding the money in a personal safe.

The task force seized 26 billion won in cash from a safe installed in areas including Han's bedroom and is proceeding with a pre-confiscation preservation process.

The allegation that Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo took funds from the Unification Church during his time as a lawmaker was closed after police declined to refer the case and the prosecution team returned the records. However, four former aides who damaged PC storage devices ahead of a search and seizure were indicted without detention on charges of destroying evidence.

The task force said, "The prosecution and police will continue to respond sternly to crimes related to religious groups that undermine the constitutional principle of separation of church and state and shake the foundations of democracy."

Meanwhile, the Unification Church said the indictment on embezzlement charges by the investigative authorities "is an excessive application of the law that ignores the essence of religious offerings and the legal requirements for establishment."

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