The police announced on the 12th that they have imposed a departure ban on former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo, who expressed his intention to resign over allegations of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church. It has been three days since the case was transferred to the special prosecutor team led by Min Joong-ki on the 9th. On the other hand, the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki has come under investigation for dereliction of duty after failing to take any action for over four months despite obtaining investigative leads in August.
The National Police Agency’s National Office of Investigation special investigation team has booked former Minister Chun Jae-soo, former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lim Jong-seong, former United Future Party lawmaker Kim Kyu-hwan, and Yun Young-ho, former global head of the Unification Church, who is suspected of providing money and valuables to the politicians, as suspects in violation of the Bribery and Political Funds Act. They have also imposed departure bans on them. However, it was reported that the police did not book former Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won, as their involvement in receiving money and valuables was not clearly substantiated based on statements made by Yun to the special counsel.
The police have also assigned the case involving the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki, which was reported by People Power Party lawmakers for dereliction of duty, to the special investigation team and begun an investigation. As the police quickly formed a 23-member special investigation team on the day they received the case and accelerated the investigation, issues of ‘biased investigation’ by the special counsel team have come to the forefront. The special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki, formed to investigate allegations related to former first lady Kim Keon-hee, has focused solely on investigating officials from the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and the People Power Party since the investigation began in July.
According to an investigation by this newspaper, the special counsel team investigated at least 18 individuals from the previous administration and the People Power Party over 30 times. They also conducted more than 20 search and seizure operations. However, despite evidence suggesting collusion between key Democratic Party figures and the Unification Church, including allegations of receiving money and valuables by current and former lawmakers, the special counsel team did not investigate a single individual or conduct any search and seizure related to the Democratic Party.
The special counsel team stated, “The individuals are not within the scope of the investigation under the Act on the Appointment of Special Prosecutors, etc.” However, legal circles have criticized this, arguing that the special counsel team has biasedly interpreted the legal clause that allows the investigation of related crimes discovered during the investigation process.
◇Special Counsel Summons 18 Opposition Figures, Conducts 20 Searches… ‘Unification Church Funds’ Investigation into Ruling Party: 0
The special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki has made multiple questionable moves in their investigation targeting former President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife, as well as the opposition People Power Party, drawing criticism for their harsh approach. A legal professional remarked, “The investigation involved coercive tactics, excessive scrutiny, and unrelated case investigations—methods not seen even in past prosecutorial practices.”
◇Targeted Investigation Aimed at ‘Dissolving the Opposition Party’
The special counsel’s investigation into the People Power Party was conducted across all fronts. This included allegations of illegal political fund receipts by politicians such as lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, suspicions of the Unification Church’s split donations, mass party membership sign-ups, various misconduct allegations against former President Yoon and his wife, and election interference suspicions surrounding election broker Myung Tae-kyun. The special counsel targeted People Power Party lawmakers directly based on memos from Yun Young-ho, former global head of the Unification Church, obtained during the prosecution’s investigation into former first lady Kim Keon-hee’s alleged receipt of money and valuables, which involved interrogating Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman also known as Geonjin. The special counsel investigated a series of individuals, including lawmaker Kweon, lawmaker Yoon Han-hong, former head of the Yoon Suk-yeol presidential campaign network Oh Eul-seop, and former Gyeongbuk Provincial Council member Park Chang-wook. Among them, lawmaker Kweon and former council member Park were indicted for violating the Political Funds Act.
Subsequently, the special counsel focused on allegations of collusion between the Unification Church and the People Power Party. Each time details of the special counsel’s investigation emerged, the Democratic Party demanded, “A political party colluding with a religious group must be dissolved.” The special counsel confirmed that 144 million Korean won from the Unification Church, directed by Yun, was distributed as donations to 20 local chapters of the People Power Party. They referred Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja and others involved to trial. During this process, it was later revealed that part of the Unification Church funds was also donated to Democratic Party figures, including Mayor of Gwangju Kang Gi-jeong and former Mayor Lee Yong-seop. However, the special counsel excluded the Democratic Party donation aspect from their investigation.
The special counsel also investigated allegations that Unification Church members collectively joined the People Power Party, indicting former first lady Kim, Han Hak-ja, and Yun. Although Unification Church officials stated during the investigation that “both ruling and opposition parties were involved in the mass membership sign-ups,” the indictment against Kim and others only mentioned the People Power Party.
◇Ruling Party Ignores Investigative Leads
In August, the special counsel obtained statements from Yun regarding former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo, former Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Jong-seong, former United Future Party lawmaker Kim Kyu-hwan, former Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, and People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won. It was reported that the statements included specific details about the three former officials—including Chun—receiving tens of millions of Korean won along with requests from the Unification Church.
However, the special counsel team only created investigative reports based on interviews rather than formal protocols. Although the investigation team reported the necessity of the investigation to their superiors, it was reported that the assistant special counsel and Min Joong-ki did not make any significant judgments or provide direction. Later, in early November, as the investigating prosecutors were about to return to the prosecution service, they merely assigned case numbers to the allegations of Democratic Party figures receiving money and valuables. Case numbers are assigned during the preliminary investigation phase before formal charges. One prosecutor stated, “We only filed the preliminary investigation to avoid potential issues like dereliction of duty later, as we were set to return to the prosecution.” It was revealed that no substantive preliminary investigation, such as verifying facts, was conducted, and only formal case records were kept. In response, a special counsel official stated, “We determined that Yun’s statements at the time were not within the scope of the investigation under the Act on the Appointment of Special Prosecutors, etc.”
Meanwhile, on the 12th, Yun testified as a witness in lawmaker Kweon’s trial, stating, “The part currently circulating in the public (allegations of the Democratic Party receiving money and valuables) is completely different from my intention,” and added, “I never made such a statement to the special counsel.”
◇Controversies Over ‘Excessive Investigation’ and ‘Coercive Tactics’
In early October, a 50-year-old Yangpyeong County official who was investigated by the special counsel left a suicide note stating he made false statements under the special counsel’s coercion and pressure. In his 21-page handwritten note, he revealed that three special counsel investigators took turns pressuring him to implicate People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sun-gyo. Although the special counsel claimed their internal audit found “no issues,” the police have begun investigating the involved prosecutors.
The investigation into former President Yoon and his wife was relentless. While probing Kim’s alleged receipt of money and valuables, they conducted search and seizures at her brother’s mother-in-law’s home and a nursing hospital operated by her family. Former President Yoon’s residence was searched twice, and Kim was summoned for questioning nine times. However, no connection has been found between Kim and various allegations, including corruption in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District development, changes to the Yangpyeong Expressway’s terminus, and preferential investments by conglomerates in IMS Mobility.
