Park Ji-won, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, “If the black hand of the Unification Church has reached into the Democratic Party as well, it must be investigated,” in response to allegations that the Unification Church had delivered money to politicians from his party. On the night of December 8th, Park mentioned on Facebook that “attack is the best defense,” expressing this sentiment.
Park further remarked, “I think I understand the meaning behind President Lee Jae-myung’s emphasis on the principle of separation of church and state and his mention of dismantling,” adding, “We should recognize that autumn has come when the paulownia leaves fall.”
He emphasized, “This will become a major issue,” reiterating, “The Lee Jae-myung government is clean.”
Earlier, Yun Young-ho, a former leader of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, had reportedly stated in an investigation by the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor team that “during the Moon Jae-in administration, money amounting to tens of millions of won was given to two Democratic Party lawmakers.” In his trial on December 5th, he also mentioned that the Unification Church approached numerous Democratic Party politicians.
However, the special prosecutor team only charged Yun and Unification Church President Han Hak-ja with the illegal support of the People Power Party and lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong. The opposition criticized this as a “biased investigation” for targeting only the People Power Party.