In South Korea, as it comes across, there is a very specific scandal currently unfolding. The case appears to be connected with the Unification Church and its influence on the country’s politics, and this seems to be one of those stories where a fire has broken out of control.
Background
It was relatively recently when the Unification Church became the subject of a scandal in Japan, where the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was committed by a man whose family had suffered from the actions of the sect and its ties with politicians. The investigation revealed that the sect had bribed representatives of various political parties, and as a result, in March 2025, the organisation was banned in Japan by a court ruling (the process continues following an appeal).
It is worth noting here that Protestant sects do indeed possess a certain potential for political influence, and this was demonstrated clearly during the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. Few people remember now that despite her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who was the daughter of a shaman and a sect leader (but not a shaman or a church functionary herself), Park attempted to rein in the activities of such sects and, in particular, to force them to pay more taxes. As a result, the sects joined Park’s opponents, and a considerable number of dirty rumours about the former president, which brought outraged crowds to the streets, were spread through Protestant preachers.
In addition, such large churches, located in Seoul and its environs, are indeed capable of making significant numbers of people take to the streets, and the use of this resource by conservatives is no different from the way Democrats use trade unions or student organisations.
It was exactly why, upon coming to power, Lee Jae Myung started his crackdown policies against Protestant congregations in such an overt fashion that they attracted the attention of Donald Trump, who even used this as a pretext for pressure, but President Lee managed to explain that these were investigative actions.
The Unification Church and the Former First Lady
Naturally, a politician or political camp that accepts bribes from the Unification Church in exchange for lobbying its interests (or, more precisely, about which this becomes known) significantly taints itself. One of the groups of special prosecutors investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, First Lady Kim Keon Hee, did not fail to make use of it.
Headed by Prosecutor Min Jong-gi, this group in particular is dealing exactly with the First Lady, against whom, unlike Yoon, there are chances to build a corruption case, since South Korean anti-corruption legislation does not require proof of intent. Any expensive gift can be regarded as a bribe, and the related request could be voiced much later.
It should be noted that the actions of Special Prosecutor Min and his colleagues beg lots pf questions in general: the most high-profile story is connected with the suicide of an official whose testimony against the First Lady, according to the note he left behind, was being extracted under pressure. As a result, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea filed a complaint.
Moreover, several thousand, if not tens of thousands, of sect members joined the Conservative Party in order to provide it with political support.
The fact that adherents of the Church have always held anti-communist positions and could have made their choice without money is, of course, glossed over. It was more important for the Democrats to show that the entire Korean population, naturally, votes for them, while the electorate of the conservatives, apart from pensioners, consists exclusively of marginal sectarians, and therefore, it is utterly unacceptable to perceive their demands as an expression of the “will of the people.”
As part of a separate case, Hak Ja Han was arrested for bribery. On December 15, she was officially declared a suspect in the bribery of several politicians and violations of the Political Funds Act; the church’s accounting documents were confiscated, and 28 billion won (19 million US dollars) were found in her personal safe.
The President Demands a “Ban”!
On December 2, 2025, Lee Jae Myung spoke with feigned indignation about the fact that religious organizations attempting to influence the country’s politics breach the constitutional principle of the separation of secular and religious spheres and should be dissolved by the state, as was done in Japan. Although the Unification Church was not indicated overtly, Lee’s reference to it was clear.
Such statements were made against the backdrop of police raids on other large Protestant congregations with conservative views, despite the fact that, according to conservative media, “they maintain long-standing personal relationships with influential evangelical leaders in the United States and, according to various reports, are close to networks supporting Trump.” As a result, the Democrats were accused not only of seeking to eliminate the personnel resources of their opponents but also of attempting to seize church assets, which would pass to the state in the case of dissolution.
An Unexpected Plot Twist
At this point, Yoon Young-ho suddenly reported that some lawmakers had been given expensive watches and cash, that there had allegedly been sponsorship assistance to the Democratic Party’s political fund, as well as offerings to the ranks of local administration heads from among the Democrats. Yoon claimed that from 2017 to 2021 the church’s ties were “closer to the Democratic Party,” and that during the Moon Jae-in administration the church supported 15 democratic politicians through political donations and other methods.
At the same time, among the recipients of bribes were people from the president’s inner circle, including Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young and the director of the National Intelligence Service, Lee Jong-seok.
There have already been some resignations. First came Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo, who from 2018 to 2020 received between 30 and 40 million won (20,377 US dollars) in cash from the Church, together with a luxury Bulgari watch, which, however, has not yet been unearthed, and the police are trying to locate the purchase receipt. The minister, nevertheless, stated that the accusations against him were absurd and completely unfounded, and that since the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Lee administration should not be swayed, he decided that “the time has come to leave his post.”
Chung Dong-young also stated that in 30 years of work in politics, his name had never been associated with any case involving money, and that he would “initiate civil and criminal proceedings against media outlets that have wreaked havoc on his reputation with unfounded statements.”
A New Investigation?
Such stories tangibly stir South Korean society, and should these statements be properly substantiated, the events could take an unpleasant twist for Lee Jae Myung, since the opposition will launch an offensive and demand that all those involved be punished equally for the same offense. The centre-right newspaper The Korea Times has already called the situation “one of the largest influence-peddling scandals the country has seen in recent years.” Former conservative leader and prosecutor Han Dong-hoon also spoke of double standards, stating that the special prosecutor “is working for the Democratic Party as a subcontractor.”
In response to the criticism, the group of Special Prosecutor Min Jong-gi transferred the case to the National Police Agency, which has already formed a special task force to conduct a full-scale investigation. This task force is considering Chun Jae-soo, as well as former lawmakers Im Jong-seok (a Democrat) and Kim Gyu-hwan (a conservative), as suspects. All three have been charged with violations of the Political Funds Act and have been banned from leaving the country. All three categorically deny the accusations against them.
Conservative lawmaker Na Kyung-won and Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young have not yet been subject to the investigation.
To sum up. It goes without saying that all sides that took money for lobbying should bear equal punishment, but for the Democrats who tried to distance themselves from all sorts of sectarians, the stain looks visually larger. Of course, there is a chance that through additional pressure on judicial and investigative bodies, Lee will fend off this attack, but social tension in society will only increase.
Konstantin Asmolov, PhD in History, leading research fellow at the Centre for Korean Studies of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences
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