50,000 Shincheonji Followers Joined People Power Party, Testimony Says
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An internal testimony has emerged claiming that 50,000 Shincheonji followers collectively joined the People Power Party from November 2021, when the party’s presidential primary took place, until 2025, during the tenure of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, amid an investigation by the joint police-prosecutors task force into allegations of mass membership sign-ups by Shincheonji followers in the People Power Party.
A, a former Shincheonji regional leader, revealed this during a phone call with this newspaper on the 19th, stating, “The Shincheonji headquarters instructed followers to each pay 1,000 Korean won to join as responsible party members with voting rights.” The mass membership project of Shincheonji followers in the People Power Party was reportedly referred to as ‘Pilates’ and ‘Red Party’ at the time.
The People Power Party held a presidential primary in 2021, local election nominations in 2022, a party leadership primary in 2023, and parliamentary nominations in 2024.
Regarding the ‘100,000 Shincheonji members joining’ theory proposed by former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who lost to former President Yoon in the 2021 presidential primary, A stated, “It was merely a slogan and not a realistic number.” Former Mayor Hong had claimed during the primary that 100,000 Shincheonji followers joined as responsible party members with voting rights to support former President Yoon in exchange for him, as prosecutor general, blocking the seizure and search of Shincheonji facilities.
A also mentioned, “After Shincheonji General Director Lee Man-hee was detained in August 2020 on charges including obstruction of COVID-19 prevention efforts, there were announcements instructing followers to pay 200,000 to 500,000 Korean won as support fees to the sect’s headquarters.”
In connection with this, the joint task force summoned former regional leader Choi, an internal whistleblower from Shincheonji, and another former regional leader Jo as witnesses for investigation on the same day.
Content retrieved from: https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/01/20/TN632YBZZRABRAIEKBDJZOA5WY/.
