Ruling Party: "Special Prosecutor Should Cover Both Unification Church and Shincheonji"
On Demands for a Nomination Fund Probe: "We Must Wait for the Police Investigation"
On January 15, the Democratic Party of Korea criticized Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, who began a hunger strike urging the acceptance of a special prosecutor investigation into the Unification Church, calling his actions a "political show." The Democratic Party argued that Jang’s hunger strike, which did not accept their demand to expand the special prosecutor’s scope to include allegations of illegal political funds involving both the Unification Church and Shincheonji, was merely a tactic to continue the ruling party’s attacks.
Kim Hyunjung, the party’s floor spokesperson, met with reporters after a policy caucus held at the National Assembly that afternoon and stated, "From the Democratic Party’s perspective, going on a hunger strike over the passage of the Unification Church special prosecutor bill seems to be a political show intended to silence criticism against the refusal to pursue the investigation."
Earlier that day, Jang began his hunger strike at the Rotunda Hall of the National Assembly during the "Second Comprehensive Rally Against the Special Prosecutor Bill," declaring, "I urge the acceptance of the special prosecutor bill here at the Rotunda Hall, where the voices of the entire nation gather."
Kim, the floor spokesperson, commented, "The National Investigation Headquarters of the police is already conducting an investigation, and the People Power Party’s consistent stance has been that a special prosecutor should be appointed only if the investigation proves insufficient. However, when the People Power Party suddenly proposed it, our party promptly accepted. The core issue here is the collusion between politics and religion."
Regarding the need to investigate the Shincheonji allegations, Kim said, "Specific allegations related to Shincheonji were raised by former leader Hong Joonpyo, and Lee Junseok, when he was leader of the People Power Party, also ordered an investigation into Shincheonji. We can only accept the special prosecutor if both the Unification Church and Shincheonji are included."
When asked about demands for a special prosecutor on nomination fund allegations, Kim responded, "The police are currently investigating, and we have never considered appointing a special prosecutor regarding this matter. Our basic position is to observe the police investigation."
Kim further stated, "Even if a special prosecutor is appointed, there are also allegations related to nomination funds within the People Power Party. There is a recording in which Assemblymen Lee Cheolkyu and Kim Jeongja are heard saying that it is customary to pay between 300 million and 500 million won, and there was a time when the media was filled with reports that, on the day of the 12·3 illegal martial law, then-floor leader Chu Kyungho received 2 billion won."
She added, "If there is a proposal to include all such matters, that would be another issue, but with the police conducting a swift investigation, this hunger strike amounts to nothing more than a politically motivated attack."
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