Shincheonji sect's political meddling allegations expand to ruling party

Rep. Jung Chung-rae, left, and former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pose at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, after they passed the preliminary round of the Democratic Party of Korea's leadership race. Yonhap

The political scandal involving the Shincheonji Church of Jesus — a Korean religious sect whose members allegedly joined the then-ruling People Power Party (PPP) en masse to back former President Yoon Suk Yeol — is now spilling over into the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) amid its leadership race.

Two leading candidates in the DPK leadership race have been exchanging barbs over the religious sect's alleged intervention in the DPK, escalating into a negative blame-game campaign.

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, a DPK leader candidate, has been raising allegations since last week that the religious sect is seeking to intervene in the DPK to influence the party.

“The essence of the upcoming national convention (party leadership race) lies in dismantling the three-way alliance of anti-Lee Jae Myung forces, factional division and Shincheonji,” Kim said, implying that his rival, Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who stepped down as party leader before seeking reelection, might have been involved in the scandal.

Kim did not elaborate on the grounds for his claim, but said he raised this to ensure a better future for the DPK and the country. His supporters, including lawmakers, asked the party to clear the allegations.

After Kim raised the allegations, the joint prosecution-police investigation task force, which has been investigating the religious group since January for its alleged meddling in the PPP, said Friday that it had found circumstantial evidence that Shincheonji followers also joined the DPK en masse before the June 3 local elections, in an alleged bid to influence the party to favor the church’s local real estate issues.

In response to Kim's remarks, Jung criticized the former prime minister for raising baseless allegations and committing an act harmful to the party, while urging him to request a formal investigation. "Please provide clear evidence and request a formal investigation. Attacking fellow party members is an explicit party-harming act."

Jung’s supporters also urged Kim to step down from the party leadership race for allegedly damaging the party’s reputation with false claims.

Shincheonji sect, for its part, released a statement denying any involvement in the DPK leadership race, insisting that labeling its members' party enrollment as political intervention infringes upon freedom of religion.

Lee Man-hee, founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul in this file photo taken June 24, to attend an arrest warrant hearing over allegations he forced followers to join the main opposition People Power Party. Yonhap

The moves came after the joint prosecution-police investigation team indicted Lee Man-hee, founder of the religious group, and detained him in June on charges of obstruction of business and violations of the Political Parties Act for allegedly forcing at least 56,472 Shincheonji followers to join the PPP from 2021 to 2024 to influence the outcomes of the party's 2021 presidential and 2024 general election primaries in favor of the religious sect.

The period of the alleged forced registration largely overlaps with the time when the PPP was the ruling party under former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The team is also investigating bribery allegations involving the Unification Church and the PPP.

Some media reports and Hong Joon-pyo, a political heavyweight and former conservative party leader, have claimed that Yoon’s aides met with Shincheonji’s leader Lee, asking its followers to join the party to support Yoon.

Hong criticized the PPP’s double standard on the issue.

“When I raised the allegations of the Shincheonji followers’ meddling in the PPP's party election, the party kept silent. It is ironic to see the PPP is criticizing the DPK for violating the Constitution’s principle of the separation of politics and religion," Hong wrote in a Facebook post on Friday.

"The PPP should do a full audit of their own party membership roster, root out and expel any Shincheonji and Unification Church members first before making such claims."

Some DPK lawmakers, meanwhile, have said that if proven true, the sect's actions would be deemed unconstitutional as it violates the principle of the separation of church and state.

The Shincheonji sect also released a statement denying any involvement in the PPP’s primary to select its presidential candidate.