Yun Youngho: "President Han Decided to Support Yoon"
Church Official: "An Attempt to Drag Others Down"
"Yoon's Camp Confirmed Attendance, Lee's Camp Requested Remote Participation...
Two Democratic Party Campaign Members Acted as a Bridge"
Former Unification Church World Headquarters Director Yun Youngho appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on July 30 for a warrant hearing regarding allegations of 'Geomjin Sorcerer Solicitation.' Photo by Yonhap News
Yun Youngho, former Director of the Unification Church World Headquarters, claimed that ahead of the 2022 presidential election, he was contacted by both former President Yoon Suk-yeol and the camp of then-Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jaemyung regarding their attendance at a 'Korean Peninsula Peace Summit' event hosted by the Unification Church.
Yun made this statement as a witness during the trial held on December 16, presided over by Judge Woo Inseong of the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, concerning Unification Church leader Han Hakja and her close aide, Chief of Staff Jeong, who are accused of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
This testimony emerged during the cross-examination of Lee Hyunyoung, former Vice President of the Unification Church, when the court questioned her. Lee, a senior official in the church, has been identified alongside Yun as a key figure in lobbying efforts targeting politicians from both ruling and opposition parties.
The special prosecutor's team asked, "Did Yun Youngho say, three to four weeks before the presidential election, 'It would be good if Y (referring to former President Yoon) wins,' or 'President Han Hakja told us to support Yoon Suk-yeol'?" Lee responded, "That was Yun Youngho's attempt to drag others down with him. He was trying to use 'True Mother' (Han Hakja) as justification."
In response, Yun stated, "Talking about dragging others down and such-this is like a comedy show," asserting that he did not have the authority to make such decisions.
He went on to say, "Since former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to give a speech at the event, both Yoon Suk-yeol's and Lee Jaemyung's camps contacted me. Yoon's camp said he would attend, while Lee's camp, because he was in Jeju, suggested participating remotely."
He added, "To my recollection, Lee said it would be difficult to attend in person and proposed having a conversation with Pence at a later date. Two members of the Democratic Party's campaign, who have recently been in the spotlight, acted as a bridge, but I did not mention their names specifically."
On the day of the event, Yoon Suk-yeol, who was the presidential candidate for the People Power Party at the time, met with former Vice President Pence at the Lotte Signiel Hotel in Seoul.
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