The special prosecutor team led by Min Joongki, which is investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Keonhee, conducted a search and seizure at the People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Office on September 30.
On this day, the special prosecutor team sent investigators to the People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Office in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, where they secured documentary materials and files from office computers.
Investigators from the Special Prosecutor Min Joongki team are leaving the People Power Party Gyeongnam Provincial Office. Photo by Lee Seryung
This search and seizure, which continued until late in the afternoon, is related to suspicions that, ahead of the People Power Party's national convention in March 2023, the Unification Church mobilized a large number of its members to join the party in order to support Assemblyman Kwon Seongdong's bid for party leader.
On this day, Kim Hyeonggeun, deputy special prosecutor, stated during a briefing, "We are conducting a search and seizure at the People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Office to verify whether Unification Church members joined the party."
The special prosecutor team believes that, in early November 2022, Mrs. Kim requested mass party membership in the People Power Party through Jeon Seongbae, known as Geonjin Bopsa, to Mr. Yoon, the global head of the Unification Church.
The special prosecutor team led by Min Jungki is entering the People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Office for a search and seizure operation. Photo by Lee Seryung
Since July, in an effort to clarify these suspicions, the special prosecutor has conducted multiple searches at Unification Church facilities, securing a list of 1.2 million members.
On August 13 and 18, as well as September 18, the special prosecutor also attempted to search the People Power Party's central headquarters, but these attempts were thwarted due to opposition from the party.
Instead, on September 18, the special prosecutor searched the company managing the People Power Party's membership database and obtained a list of approximately 110,000 party members believed to be Unification Church members.
The special prosecutor is expected to continue comparing the list of party members who joined during specific periods with the list of Unification Church members.
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