Joint Investigation Headquarters on Collusion Between Politics and Religion Concludes 8-Month Probe: Lee Manhee Indicted, 26 Billion Won Seized from Han Hakja’s Safe

Shincheonji Coerced Tens of Thousands of Believers to Join the People Power Party
Unification Church Made Illegal Contributions to 132 Politicians
26 Billion Won in Cash Seized from Han Hakja’s Personal Safe
Also Indicted for Embezzling 10.5 Billion Won

The Joint Investigation Headquarters on Collusion between Politics and Religion, operated by the prosecution and police, has concluded its eight-month investigation into the suspicion of collusion between religious groups and political organizations, indicting a total of 32 individuals, including officials from Shincheonji and the Unification Church. The Headquarters confirmed that Shincheonji systematically encouraged its believers to join a specific political party and found that the Unification Church illegally provided political donations from its denominational funds to politicians. Additionally, the investigation uncovered various internal financial crimes within both organizations, including tax evasion and embezzlement of church funds.

Kim Taehun, Chief of Joint Investigation Headquarters for Collusion between Politicians and Business. Yonhap News Agency

On August 31, Taehun Kim, Head of the Joint Investigation Headquarters on Corruption of Close Ties, announced these final findings. The Headquarters, launched on January 6, initially indicted four individuals, including Chairman Lee Manhee of Shincheonji, without bail and another 12 without detention in relation to the Shincheonji case. In regard to the Unification Church, 16 individuals, including President Han Hakja, were indicted without detention, and summary orders were requested for six of them.

The investigation revealed that Shincheonji gave each of its regional branches a target number of new party members to enroll between June 2021 and April 2024, resulting in tens of thousands of its believers joining the People Power Party. Some members were found to have joined against their will. The Headquarters has indicted eight people, including Chairman Lee Manhee and former General Secretary Koh Dongan, on charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstruction of business.

Chairman Lee has also been charged with tax evasion. According to the investigation, Shincheonji disguised seventy local church stores nationwide as being operated under believers’ names between 2016 and 2020 and maintained double sets of accounting books to evade a combined 7.57 billion won in corporate and value-added taxes. Former General Secretary Koh was additionally indicted for embezzling or unlawfully appropriating approximately 6 billion won in church funds.

The investigation also uncovered an illegal party primary campaign conducted ahead of next year's local elections. Last year, following a supporter’s request for a specific mayoral candidate, a Shincheonji branch executive encouraged believers to join the People Power Party, resulting in more than 30 new memberships. The Headquarters indicted two individuals without detention for violating the Public Official Election Act. However, no evidence was found to suggest that Chairman Lee or the central organization had issued such directives at the leadership level.

The Unification Church was found to have engaged in systematic political sponsorship using denominational funds. The Headquarters determined that, in an effort to expand its political influence, the Unification Church made 219 illegal political donations totaling approximately 189 million won to 132 politicians, including members of the National Assembly, between March 2019 and January of last year. Three people, including former Global Headquarters Director Yoon Youngho and former International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) Chairman Song Kwangseok, were indicted without detention, and six regional leaders were subject to summary indictment. However, due to a lack of direct evidence, President Han and former Chief Presidential Secretary Jung Wonju were not referred for prosecution or had their case files returned regarding their alleged involvement in colluding to provide illegal political funds.

Cash seized from the personal safe of Han Hak-ja, president of the Unification Church, by the Joint Investigation Headquarters for Collusive Corruption. Courtesy of the Joint Investigation Headquarters

Separately, President Han, former Chief Secretary Jung, former Headquarters Director Yoon, and another individual were indicted for embezzling approximately 10.5 billion won in church funds via fraudulent accounting practices between 2017 and last year. The Headquarters believes these funds were used for expanding political influence, gifts for close associates, and purchasing luxury goods for personal use. During the investigation, approximately 26 billion won in cash found in President Han’s personal safe was fully seized, and the process for preserving these assets for forfeiture is underway.

The Headquarters stated, "Through this investigation, we have for the first time identified the reality of collusion between politics and religion, in which a religious organization tries to influence the decision-making of a specific political party by leveraging large-scale organizational power," adding, "The prosecution and police remain committed to continuing to respond to crimes committed by religious organizations that threaten the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.