Unification Church gate rattles politics as parties clash

Dec 16, 2025, 08:18 am

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Photos of Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church (right), and the late founder Moon Sun-myung are displayed in the lobby of the Unification Church’s Korean headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul, on December 15, as police launch their first compulsory investigation, including search and seizure, into allegations that political figures received money from the church. / Source: Yonhap News

South Korea’s political arena has been shaken by the so-called “Unification Church gate,” with the ruling and opposition parties taking sharply opposing stances over whether to launch a special counsel investigation.

As deadlines approach for the conclusion of three ongoing special probes—into insurrection, first lady Kim Keon Hee, and the death of Marine Cpl. Chae—the Democratic Party has moved to push a “second comprehensive special counsel” to wrap up unresolved issues. However, it has flatly rejected calls for a separate special counsel focused on the Unification Church. The People Power Party, by contrast, has demanded that such a probe be launched “immediately,” stepping up pressure over allegations that figures linked to the ruling camp were involved in the scandal.

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae said during a closed-door preliminary supreme council meeting on December 15 that the People Power Party’s demand for a special counsel into alleged Unification Church lobbying was “absolutely unacceptable and not worth considering.” He stressed that the Democratic Party’s proposed second comprehensive special counsel was intended only to conclude unfinished aspects of the three existing probes, not to launch a new investigation.

Park Soo-hyun, the party’s chief spokesperson, also said it was misguided to equate allegations involving some Democratic Party figures with the Unification Church scandal. Spokesperson Kim Hyun-jung added that the president had instructed investigators to probe all allegations regardless of political affiliation, saying that a special counsel should be considered only if the results were found to be insufficient or questionable.

Opposition parties argue that a new, independent special counsel is unavoidable. They say allegations involving three current cabinet-level officials, as well as figures close to President Lee Jae-myung and current and former Democratic Party lawmakers, make it essential to establish the truth through a politically neutral and independent probe that the public can accept.

Calls for a separate special counsel have also been fueled by accusations of biased investigation. Critics point out that the existing special counsel team reportedly secured testimony from former Unification Church official Yoon Young-ho that he had given money to five politicians from both major parties, yet did not immediately pursue the case because Democratic Party figures were implicated. Questions have also been raised over the decision to transfer the case with the statute of limitations nearing expiration.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk said at a supreme council meeting held at a protest tent outside the National Assembly that Yoon’s silence during court proceedings suggested the possibility of prior coordination between the special counsel and the president, calling it “a clearer justification for a special counsel than this.” Floor leader Song Eon-seok likewise urged the immediate launch of a parliamentary probe into alleged pressure to drop the appeal in the Daejang-dong case, a special counsel into biased investigations, and a special counsel on the Unification Church gate.

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the New Reform Party, also joined the call, saying he would work to submit a unified bill with the People Power Party, while proposing that recommendations for special counsel candidates exclude the two major parties.

The growing pressure has drawn a sharp reaction from the Democratic Party. Supreme council member Lee Eon-ju criticized Lee Jun-seok and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon for, in her words, “jumping at the chance” to push for a special counsel and muddy the waters. She said that both figures could not claim to be free of responsibility, noting their past roles as justice minister and opposition leader, and questioned whether those refusing to comply with summonses could credibly demand a special probe.

#Unification Church gate #special counsel #Democratic Party #People Power Party #political scandal