Yoon Youngho Claims to Have Provided Tens of Millions of Won in Cash and Valuables
Mentions 15 Democratic Party Officials
The special prosecutor's team investigating Kim Keonhee (led by Special Prosecutor Min Junggi) referred a case to the National Office of Investigation on December 9, after obtaining testimony that current and former lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea received financial support from the Unification Church.
The special prosecutor's office stated, "We have transferred the preliminary investigation case regarding the Unification Church's contacts with politicians to the National Office of Investigation this afternoon."
On the morning of the 18th, the area around the Unification Church headquarters in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News
According to legal sources, Yoon Youngho, former head of the Unification Church's World Headquarters, claimed during an interview with the Kim Keonhee special prosecutor's team in August this year that he provided tens of millions of won in cash and valuables to two individuals-one current and one former Democratic Party lawmaker-between 2018 and 2020, specifying their real names. It is reported that Yoon mentioned up to 15 Democratic Party officials in total.
The special prosecutor determined that the allegations did not fall within the scope of the investigation as defined by the special prosecutor act, and therefore did not pursue the matter further, noting that it was unrelated to Mrs. Kim. On December 8, Special Prosecutor Oh Jeonghee explained, "After hearing the testimony from former headquarters chief Yoon, we assigned a case number for a preliminary investigation and created a case record," but added, "We plan to hand the case over to investigative authorities."
During the trial of President Han Hakja held the previous day, a Unification Church official testified as a witness that they had made efforts to contact the Democratic Party of Korea as well, delivering money in the form of donations to figures in the political sphere. Kang, a Unification Church regional official active in southern Seoul around the 2022 presidential election, responded to the special prosecutor's question about his activities by saying, "I made many efforts to build connections with various politicians, affiliated individuals, and external organizations." He added, "I also met with Democratic Party lawmakers and people from various backgrounds, making efforts to establish relationships."
The statute of limitations for prosecuting violations of the Political Funds Act is seven years. For some of the offenses testified to by former headquarters chief Yoon, the statute of limitations will expire after the end of December this year, when the special prosecutor's investigation period concludes.
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