Unification Church Officials Discuss Expanding Political Influence: "Aiming for 2027 Presidential Bid"

Special Prosecutor Reveals Meeting Minutes at Han Hakja's Trial
Document Shows 11,010 Church Members Joined People Power Party
Ahead of 2023 Party Leadership Election

During the trial of Han Hakja, President of the Unification Church, details emerged revealing that senior officials of the Unification Church discussed ways to exert political influence ahead of the 20th presidential election. It has been found that they devised a roadmap that included securing the right to nominate parliamentary candidates and even a bid for the presidency in 2027.

Han Hakja, President of the Unification Church. Yonhap News

On December 19, at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Woo Inseong), the special prosecutor's team disclosed meeting minutes of senior Unification Church officials during the ongoing trial of President Han on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. This meeting took place in October 2021, five months before the 20th presidential election.

According to materials released by the special prosecutor's team, a Unification Church official who attended the meeting stated, "Our goal is to have our people enter the Blue House as aides. The second goal is to secure the right to nominate parliamentary candidates, whether from the ruling or opposition party," adding, "We need to select a candidate to support between January and February next year."

Another official also commented, "Securing parliamentary nominations and entering the Blue House as a foundation is by no means easy, but we must reach this point to establish ourselves. If we proceed in this way, we could even challenge for the presidency in 2027."

The special prosecutor's team presented these meeting minutes and asked Eom Yunhyeong, Director of the New Unified Korea Department at the Unification Church World Headquarters, who appeared as a witness, "Did you plan whom to support in the presidential election starting from October 2021?" Eom replied, "It seems we discussed it." Eom claimed that the background for these discussions was the intention of former World Headquarters Director Yoon Youngho.

The special prosecutor's team also presented evidence showing that the Unification Church attempted to have its members join the People Power Party as party members ahead of the party's leadership election in March 2023. This evidence was a document titled "Project Progress Status," exchanged among Unification Church officials in February of the same year, which stated that 11,010 church members from regions such as Seoul-Incheon and Gyeonggi-Gangwon had joined the People Power Party as members.