Busan mayoral election rocked by frontrunners’ ties to Unification Church
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The Busan mayoral election, now less than six months away, is being rocked by footage from the past showing the two frontrunners’ ties to the scandal-ridden Unification Church.
Photos and videos showing former Oceans and Fisheries Minister Chun Jae-soo of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and incumbent Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) attending events or appearing alongside individuals associated with the Unification Church have surfaced one after another, putting both camps on the defensive. The mayoral election is set for June 3.
Latest evidence revealed Tuesday that Busan Mayor Park had sent congratulatory video messages to Unification Church–related events at least five times. The news came just one day after police raided 10 locations linked to the Unification Church’s alleged political bribery case.
In September 2021, Park delivered a video message to the “Think Tank 2022” event hosted by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), saying that “the incomplete peace on the Korean Peninsula is a task that must be resolved for the future of the global community.” The UPF was founded in 2005 by the late Moon Sun-myung, founder of the Unification Church, to promote the resolution of global conflicts. In February the following year, Park also sent a congratulatory video to the “World Summit 2022” organized by the same group.
Park sent at least four additional congratulatory messages to the organization in August 2022 and again in 2023, 2024 and 2025, according to findings by the JoongAng Ilbo.
As allegations of Park’s links to the Unification Church gained traction, the Busan metropolitan government pushed back, calling them a “political smear campaign.” A close aide to Park said the messages were limited to routine expressions of appreciation or congratulations for events and that “it is customary to send such messages as long as the organization is not illegal.” The aide added that the matter is “completely unrelated to allegations of illicit donations involving the Unification Church.”
Indeed, Park was not the only official to have sent congratulatory remarks to the events. Others included South Jeolla Gov. Kim Young-rok, former Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop, former North Jeolla Gov. Song Ha-jin, former South Chungcheong Gov. Yang Seung-jo, former North Chungcheong Gov. Lee Si-jong and North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo.
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