Democratic Party Proposes Special Prosecutor Act Targeting Unification Church, Shincheonji in People Power Party
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The Democratic Party of Korea proposed the *Act on the Appointment of Special Prosecutors, etc.*, related to allegations of the Unification Church’s lobbying of political circles with money and valuables, on the 26th. The investigation targets include not only the Unification Church but also allegations of Shincheonji members joining the People Power Party.
The name of the bill proposed by the Democratic Party that day is *Special Counsel for the Investigation into Allegations of Collusion and Corruption between the Unification Church, Shincheonji, and Political Circles, etc.* The investigation targets include “allegations of the Unification Church providing money and valuables to politicians and soliciting favors,” “the Unification Church’s involvement in the Korea-Japan undersea tunnel project,” and “the Unification Church and Shincheonji’s alleged membership in the People Power Party and interference in party elections.”
The scale of the special counsel team is a total of 154 personnel, and the investigation period can be extended up to a maximum of 170 days (20 days of preparation, 90 days of investigation, with two possible extensions of 30 days each). The institutions recommending the special counsel are the Korean Bar Association (1 person), the Korean Law Professors Association (1 person), and the Law School Deans Council (1 person). The president appoints one of the three candidates.
Moon Jin-seog, the floor leader, said immediately after proposing the *Act on the Appointment of Special Prosecutors, etc.*, “We will process the *Act on the Appointment of Special Prosecutors, etc.*, within the December provisional National Assembly” and “We have reached some consensus with the opposition party.” The December provisional National Assembly will proceed until the 8th of next month.
Regarding the exclusion of Min Joong-ki special counsel, who has been criticized for allegedly covering up the Unification Church’s money-laundering suspicions, the party drew a line, stating, “Our party did not include Min Joong-ki special counsel in the investigation targets from the beginning.”
The Democratic Party has maintained the position that political parties should be excluded from the special counsel recommendation process. Lee Yong-woo, the Democratic Party’s legal affairs committee chairman, said, “The Democratic Party decided not to get involved first because political circles’ involvement in the special counsel recommendation process could cause unnecessary controversy and undermine the acceptability of future investigation results.”
Regarding some arguments that the Rebuilding Korea Party and the Reform Party should be given the right to recommend the special counsel, the party drew a line, stating, “We cannot accept that.” Moon, the floor leader, said, “Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the Reform Party, was the People Power Party’s chairman during the 2022 presidential election. He could be a subject of investigation. It is not appropriate for such a person to make recommendations.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2025/12/26/RHH7ZHKVSVF63OBU6RJE4MKXKI/.
