Lee accepts resignation of oceans minister over allegations of receiving money from Unification Church
Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo is surrounded by reporters at Incheon International Airport, Thursday, after he offered to resign amid allegations that he received bribes from the Unification Church. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday accepted the resignation of Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo, hours after Chun offered to step down over allegations he received money from the Unification Church.
Chun's resignation was approved, the presidential office said in a press notice, making him the first minister to leave the Cabinet since Lee took office in June.
Earlier in the day, Chun tendered his resignation amid allegations that he took bribes from the Unification Church, but strongly denied them as "completely groundless."
On Wednesday, Lee called for a stern investigation into whether any politicians were involved in illegal acts with religious groups, apparently targeting those suspected of receiving illicit political funds from the Unification Church.
Chun has been named by a former Unification Church official as one of several ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)-affiliated people who took money and other gifts from the church during the administration of former President Moon Jae-in.
Yun Young-ho, former head of the church's global headquarters, told a special counsel team in August that the church gave two luxury watches and tens of millions of won to Chun between 2018 and 2020 while requesting his help with the church's project to build an undersea tunnel connecting Korea and Japan. Chun was a DPK lawmaker at the time.
Yun's testimony only surfaced recently after he disclosed it at his trial last week, accusing the special counsel team of conducting a biased investigation focused only on the church's alleged ties to the main opposition People Power Party affiliated with former President Yoon Suk Yeol.