Exclusive: Prosecutors Investigate Unification Church, Shincheonji Collusion
Published By admin
A joint investigation team of prosecutors and police probing allegations of collusion between politics and religion announced on the 7th that it would investigate not only the Unification Church but also Shincheonji. The investigation aims to clarify suspicions of financial lobbying targeting political circles and the enrollment of followers as party members by both religious groups. The authorities are also expected to examine the relationship between the Unification Church and Shincheonji, both considered representative emerging religious groups in South Korea.
Lee Man-hee, 95, the general director of Shincheonji, has been evaluated as benchmarking the late Moon Sun-myung, the first leader of the Unification Church, a model of success in the emerging religious sector. The Unification Church is also accused of intervening in the 20th presidential election in 2022 through methods similar to the election interference allegations previously raised against Shincheonji.
According to documents dubbed the “Unification Church Leader Han Hak-ja Report” reviewed by this newspaper, Shincheonji was mentioned 42 times. In a 3,000-page document titled “TM (True Mother) Report” written by Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s world headquarters (detained), Yun reported to Han on November 20–22, 2017, that “Kim Nam-hee, a strong successor to Lee Man-hee, reportedly defected.” Yun introduced related articles, stating, “Kim was essentially acting as the True Mother” and “a Shincheonji executive did not deny this in a recent KakaoTalk conversation.”
Yun added, “This marks a critical turning point for Shincheonji, which had long benchmarked the Unification Church,” and “it appears closely related to the spiritual activities of the True Mother (Han).” This suggests internal conflict within Shincheonji as Kim attempted to assume a role similar to Han’s. Yun was detained by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki on charges including providing 100 million Korean won in illegal political funds to Kweon Seong-dong, a lawmaker from the People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol camp ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
Kim Nam-hee, once considered Shincheonji’s second-in-command, left the group in 2017 and exposed negative information about Shincheonji and Lee. In March 2019, Kim filed a complaint against Lee, accusing him of embezzling church funds. Lee was indicted in August 2020 for obstructing the government’s COVID-19 quarantine efforts and embezzlement. In August 2022, the Supreme Court upheld a three-year prison sentence, suspended for five years, for embezzlement and obstruction of business.
The Unification Church’s TM Report also reflects awareness of Shincheonji as a rival religion. In a June 29, 2021, TM Report, attendee B of the “2nd Heavenly Parent’s Peace Festival” reportedly said, “Though I harbored hostility toward the Unification Church as a Shincheonji member, I realized how foolish that was. The peaceful world and kingdom Shincheonji dreamed of seemed already built by the Unification Church.”
Lee, back under police and prosecution scrutiny after six years, faces allegations that Shincheonji collectively enrolled its followers as responsible party members with voting rights in the People Power Party, influencing the November 2021 presidential primary. Hong Joon-pyo, former Daegu mayor who lost to former President Yoon Suk-yeol in the primary, claimed that 100,000 Shincheonji followers joined as responsible party members in exchange for Yoon blocking a church raid during his tenure as prosecutor general.
Similar suspicions arose during the presidential elections that brought Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye to power, with allegations that Shincheonji systematically enrolled followers in the People Power Party to interfere in internal primaries. However, investigations did not proceed to trial. Meanwhile, the Unification Church is under trial after a special counsel team investigating former first lady Kim Keon-hee indicted Han Hak-ja and others in October last year for supporting Yoon Suk-yeol in the 20th presidential election. Since Shincheonji’s political interference allegations predate the Unification Church’s, some suggest the Unification Church may have benchmarked Shincheonji.
Amid ongoing police investigations into the Unification Church’s alleged financial lobbying of current and former Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers, a joint investigation team was launched under President Lee Jae-myung’s directive to include Shincheonji. Opposition circles criticized this as an attempt to divert attention from the Unification Church’s Democratic Party-linked lobbying probes, demanding a special counsel.
Content retrieved from: https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/01/08/GZDBE5U25VFPXH7IAJN3V3EUWE/.
