Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Opposition parties unite to demand special probe into Unification Church scandal
Police officials carry out seized items from the office of former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
Democratic Party of Korea rejects calls for special counsel on Unification Church ties to politicians
Conservative opposition parties, led by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and including the minor Reform Party, are uniting to push for a special counsel investigation into an alleged bribery scandal involving the Unification Church that has already implicated figures in the ruling party. The bloc has stepped up pressure on the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to accept the opposition-proposed probe.
The developments come as the DPK leadership moves to advance a second round of three special investigations, targeting former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law imposition, bribery and corruption allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee, and the death of a Marine corporal who drowned in a flood rescue operation under the Yoon administration.
The PPP is seeking to use the Unification Church allegations to push back against what it calls the DPK’s effort to frame the political agenda around “rooting out insurrection supporters” linked to Yoon’s martial law declaration. Officials worry about being trapped in that narrative through next June’s local elections.
PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog reiterated on Tuesday, following similar remarks the day before, that the party is committed to working with other opposition parties, including the Reform Party, to pursue a special counsel investigation into allegations that ruling party figures received illegal money and valuables from the Unification Church.
Song Eon-seog, second from left, floor leader of the People Power Party, delivers opening remarks at a floor leadership meeting held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
“Legislation is already prepared,” Song said at a PPP floor leadership meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. “We will immediately consult with opposition parties, including the Reform Party, coordinate closely, and formally introduce the bill in the near future.”
PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok also called for the appointment of a special prosecutor, saying that “those who oppose a special prosecutor are the culprits.” He criticized President Lee Jae Myung’s recent remarks at a Cabinet meeting on the dissolution of religious organizations, accusing the president of attempting to “silence the Unification Church.”
“If the DPK and people close to the president were not deeply and broadly involved, why would the president himself step in to intimidate?” Jang said. “This is a clear case of a power-driven crime cover-up involving the president. There is no clearer justification for a special prosecutor.”
The Reform Party aligned itself with the PPP's push as well. Senior spokesperson Lee Dong-hoon said in a statement that the Unification Church scandal “is precisely the kind of case that requires a special prosecutor,” adding that the DPK's argument for leaving the matter to the police amounted to “asking a cat to guard the fish.”
Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae enters the party lawmakers’ general meeting held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
The DPK, however, continues to firmly reject any special counsel investigation focused on the Unification Church controversy.
The party's leadership is seeking to prevent the expanding scandal, particularly allegations involving figures associated with the DPK, from gaining political traction. While publicly drawing a clear line against opposition demands for a separate special prosecutor, party officials have largely avoided addressing the issue in public meetings.
According to senior spokesperson Park Soo-hyun, DPK leader Jung Chung-rae said at a closed-door leadership meeting earlier this week that accepting a special prosecutor to handle the Unification Church allegations was “absolutely impossible” and “not worth even a moment’s consideration."
Accused by the opposition bloc of hypocrisy — rejecting the special counsel on the scandal while pursuing a second round of investigations against the previous administration — DPK officials maintain the two matters are fundamentally different.
“The second round of the three special prosecutors is intended to address shortcomings in the initial investigations and therefore carries full legitimacy,” Kim Gi-pyo, the party’s floor deputy leader, said in a radio interview on Tuesday.
“These are issues on entirely different levels and should not be compared in the same way,” he said, adding that “as for the Unification Church case, there is still sufficient scope for the police to conduct a thorough investigation into any allegations involving DPK figures.