Oceans minister steps down over church-linked allegations

Dec 11, 2025, 09:44 am

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Jeon Jae-soo, minister of oceans and fisheries, answers reporters’ questions at Incheon Airport on December 11 after returning from a campaign to host the UN Ocean Assembly. / Source: Yonhap News

The U.S. Federal Reserve on December 10 (local time) lowered its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, but the decision exposed the central bank’s sharpest internal disagreement in six years, with three out of twelve voting members opposing the move.

Three dissenting votes mirror 2019-level division

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the federal funds rate to a range of 3.50–3.75%, marking the sixth rate cut since September of last year and the third reduction this year. The policy rate is now at its lowest point since October 2022.

The dissent reflected differing priorities among Fed officials over balancing inflation control with labor-market risk. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee voted to hold rates steady, while Fed Governor Steve Myron maintained his dovish stance, calling for a deeper 0.50-point cut.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said all committee members agree inflation remains too high and that labor-market conditions have softened, but acknowledged disagreement over how much weight to assign to each risk factor. “It is very unusual for tensions between our dual mandate goals to persist this long,” he said.

Fed resumes Treasury purchases, but signals caution on future cuts

The Fed also announced it will begin purchasing $40 billion in U.S. Treasury securities starting December 12, signaling an additional monetary-easing push. Still, the committee emphasized a cautious approach to any further rate cuts, saying it would weigh incoming data, economic outlook changes and risk balance before adjusting rates again.

The Fed’s quarterly “dot plot” projections pointed to only one potential rate cut each in 2026 and 2027. Forecasts showed unemployment at 4.4% in 2026 and 4.2% in 2027, GDP growth at 2.3% and 2.0%, and inflation at 2.4% and 2.1%, respectively.

The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Fed “hinted it may pause rate cuts for now,” while CNBC said the central bank signaled “a tougher road ahead for further reductions.”

Powell also noted that Fed officials are split between those who favor stopping cuts now and those who believe at least one more cut this year or next may be necessary.

Powell: Tariff impact on inflation likely limited

Addressing the inflationary impact of U.S. tariffs, Powell said that assuming no major new tariffs are imposed, goods-sector inflation is likely to peak in the first quarter of next year and remain modest thereafter—around 0.2 percentage points or less.

He added that much of the high cost burden Americans are currently experiencing stems not from today’s inflation rate, but from cost increases that became embedded during the high-inflation periods of 2022 and 2023.

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Jeon Jae-soo tendered his resignation on December 11 after allegations surfaced that he had received money and luxury gifts from a former senior figure in the Unification Church. Jeon flatly denied the accusations but said stepping down was the responsible course of action.

Speaking to reporters upon returning from a campaign to host the UN Ocean Assembly, Jeon said, “Resigning and facing this issue with confidence is what a public official must do.”

Calling the allegations “absurd and entirely baseless,” he nonetheless stressed that neither the ministry nor the Lee Jae-myung administration should be shaken by the controversy. “Although the claims are false, I believe it is appropriate for me to step down so the ministry can work without disruption,” he said.

Jeon reiterated that he had “never accepted any illegal money or gifts,” adding that the truth would be clarified through the investigation or through future public explanations, such as a press briefing.

He acknowledged concerns that his resignation might be misinterpreted as an admission of wrongdoing but said the decision reflected his intent to “respond to the issue more responsibly and forthrightly.”

The allegations stem from testimony by Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s world headquarters, who reportedly told special prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team that he had given Jeon two luxury watches and several tens of millions of won between 2018 and 2020.

The special counsel’s office determined that potential wrongdoing by Jeon and other Democratic Party figures falls outside the scope of the special-prosecutor statute and has transferred the matter to the National Office of Investigation (NOI). Police investigators are expected to examine whether Jeon received any such benefits and whether there was any quid pro quo.

#Jeon Jae-soo #Unification Church #resignation #gift allegations #National Office of Investigation