Police Raid Ex-Unification Church Official’s Home in Bribery Probe
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Police investigating allegations of bribery involving the Unification Church raided the home of Jeong Won-ju, former secretary-general to the Unification Church’s former president, on the 31st. The National Police Agency’s National Office of Investigation, leading the dedicated Unification Church probe, confirmed the raid at Jeong’s residence in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province.
The raid aimed to secure evidence related to allegations that Chun Jae-soo, Democratic Party lawmaker, received 20 million Korean won in cash and one luxury watch from the Unification Church around 2018.
Police had charged Jeong in early 2019 for allegedly providing illegal political funds to lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties and referred the case to prosecutors. However, they had not charged the lawmaker involved. On the day of the raid, Jeong was treated as a reference person, not a suspect.
In the afternoon, police conducted a second raid on the office of Min Joong-ki’s special prosecutor team. This marked the third raid on the office, following previous searches on the 15th and 16th, to secure additional evidence related to the lawmaker’s alleged offenses.
Concerns have been raised that the statute of limitations for the lawmaker’s alleged bribery could soon expire. If the luxury watch’s value is under 10 million Korean won, the total amount (30 million Korean won) would fall below the threshold for a seven-year statute of limitations. Since the cash was reportedly received around 2018, the statute of limitations could expire next year. Police are currently verifying the timing and amount of the alleged cash transfer.
Content retrieved from: https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2025/12/31/TXKAJLDST5HPLBHLWKWNFKGQJI/.
