Special counsel confirms ex-church official mentioned 5 politicians who allegedly received bribes from Unification Church
Special counsel Min Joong-ki speaks during a launch ceremony of his team at its office in central Seoul, July 2. Yonhap
A special counsel team confirmed Thursday that a former Unification Church official embroiled in a corruption case mentioned five politicians from both ruling and opposition parties who allegedly received funds from the church.
The confirmation came after Yun Young-ho, former head of the church's global headquarters, testified during his trial Friday that the team did not investigate his claim the church had sought to support not only the People Power Party (PPP) but also the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) ahead of the 2022 presidential race.
Special counsel Min Joong-ki, mandated to investigate corruption allegations surrounding former first lady Kim Keon Hee, has focused on the church's alleged links to Kim and the PPP affiliated with former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
"Those mentioned during Yun's testimony at the time were not politicians from a particular party but five politicians from ruling and opposition parties," assistant special counsel Park Noh-soo said in a briefing, while rejecting the accusations of a biased investigation.
Park said there was no dispute within the team that Yun's testimony during questioning in August did not fall under its investigation mandate, voicing strong regret over the accusations.
Yun is currently standing trial on embezzlement and other charges, and is accused of giving luxury gifts to the former first lady in exchange for business favors in 2022.
After Yun's claims became public, the team transferred the case on the allegations related to the DPK to the police on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo offered to resign amid allegations he received money from the church, but strongly denied them as "completely groundless."