Probe examines alleged election lobbying by Unification Church

Evidence has surfaced indicating that Yoon Young-ho, former world headquarters chief of the Unification Church, met with People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong roughly two months before the 2022 presidential election and attempted to persuade him to arrange then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol’s appearance at a church event. Yoon is suspected of having offered at least $100,000 in exchange for Yoon Suk Yeol’s attendance.

According to sources on Jan. 27, a joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, headed by Kim Tae-hoon, chief prosecutor of the Daejeon High Prosecutors Office, is probing possible political lobbying after confirming that Yoon met Kwon on seven occasions between Dec. 29, 2021, and March 8, 2022, the day before the 20th presidential election. The promised sum, valued at about 120 million won at the exchange rate at the time, is also under scrutiny. Investigators are examining whether the funds were actually paid as Yoon allegedly lobbied to bring presidential candidates from both the ruling and opposition parties, along with other political figures, to a Unification Church event held in February 2022.

Investigators found that at his second meeting with Kwon, held on Jan. 5, 2022, at a Chinese restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, Yoon said he would provide at least $100,000 to cover recruitment and transportation costs if Yoon Suk Yeol attended the church event. He added that the money would be offered even if Lee Jae-myung, then the Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate, took part, asserting that the funds were legitimate and could be accepted. Yoon also reportedly told Kwon that attending the event would benefit Yoon Suk Yeol by serving as a debut on the diplomatic stage ahead of his presidency.

The event Yoon cited was the Unification Church’s Korean Peninsula Peace Summit, held on Feb. 13, 2022, where Yoon Suk Yeol, then a presidential candidate, met former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

Investigators said Yoon first met Kwon on Dec. 29, 2021. Two days later, he allegedly sent a text message to a senior Unification Church official stating that if Kwon accepted the conditions he had proposed, the church would support the People Power Party with votes, organizational backing and financial resources. According to the message, the church’s substantive demand was to place its own members within the administration to advance its policy agenda and have those demands adopted as campaign pledges. The text also reportedly referred to allocating a certain proportion of positions within both the presidential office and the People Power Party.

Investigators also found that Yoon sought Kwon’s views on the possibility of organized support from the Unification Church for the People Power Party. According to Kwon, Yoon asked whether it would be permissible for church executives to make donations to the party’s fundraising committees across its 17 provincial and metropolitan chapters. Kwon said he responded that there would be no issue if individuals donated voluntarily, but that using church funds or exerting pressure on members to donate would constitute a legal violation.

Kwon further stated that Yoon identified himself as a native of Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and said he believed the Moon Jae-in administration had serious shortcomings, which led him to conclude that a change in government was necessary. Kwon acknowledged that Yoon expressed a willingness to assist with the election, but denied that he had mentioned mobilizing organized voting.

Kwon, who has been indicted and detained on charges of receiving 100 million won in cash from Yoon, is scheduled to receive his first court ruling on the afternoon of Jan. 28.


소설희 facthee@donga.com