Democratic Party Submits Disciplinary Motion Against Kwon Seongdong Over Alleged Unification Church Bribery

Park Sanghyuk and Kim Hyunjung of the Democratic Party Submit Disciplinary Motion on August 8

The Democratic Party of Korea has submitted a disciplinary motion to the National Assembly against Kwon Seongdong, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, who is suspected of receiving money and valuables from the leader of the Unification Church.

Yonhap News

On the morning of August 8 at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Park Sanghyuk, Senior Deputy Floor Leader for Communication, and Kim Hyunjung, Floor Spokesperson, submitted the disciplinary motion against Kwon to the National Assembly's Bill Division. The list of proposers includes members of the Democratic Party's floor leadership.

Park Sanghyuk explained the background for submitting the motion, stating, "Through the special prosecutor, it is being revealed that the Unification Church and other religious groups have interfered in party politics, which is the foundation of our democracy, thereby undermining democracy itself." He added, "As reported by the media, there have been allegations that Kwon received political funds from the leader and associates of the Unification Church, which our party believes constitutes grounds for disciplinary action as stipulated by the National Assembly Act."

According to the National Assembly Act, a lawmaker can be disciplined through review and resolution by the Special Committee on Ethics if they violate their duty of integrity or abuse their position to gain property or status from the state, public organizations, or companies. To request disciplinary action, a petition signed by at least 20 lawmakers must be submitted to the Speaker.

Park further explained, "The second-in-command of the Unification Church has been investigated by the special prosecutor, and it has been confirmed that they spoke with Kwon afterwards." He added, "Since the money was received before the presidential election, this raises suspicions that it may have been used as campaign funds for then-candidate Yoon Suk Yeol, making this a significant issue."

Regarding the possibility of revising the special prosecutor law to cover this case, Park said, "The scope of the investigation is already defined in the special prosecutor law, so it cannot be expanded indefinitely. However, considering recent cases such as the Kim Keonhee housekeeper case and others, there may be a need to investigate further." He continued, "There has been discussion within the party about the need for a special prosecutor to look into issues such as whether there was external pressure in handling incidents like last year's unfortunate case involving a senior official at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and the Kim Keonhee luxury bag case."

Kim Hyunjung, Floor Spokesperson, stated, "The party is currently participating in the Three Major Special Prosecutor Task Force (3dae Teukgeom TF), and we are reviewing whether additional matters should be included. If necessary, we plan to propose a bill to expand the scope of the special prosecutor law."