Joint Investigation Team on Church-State Collusion Conducts First Search and Seizure of Shincheonji over Mass Party Membership Allegations

Searches Conducted at Gwacheon Headquarters and Gapyeong Palace of Peace

The joint prosecution and police investigation team, which is probing allegations of collusion between the Unification Church and Shincheonji with political and religious circles, has launched a compulsory investigation into Shincheonji. This marks the first time since the launch of the joint investigation team on January 6 that a compulsory investigation has been initiated against Shincheonji.

Joint Investigation Team on Church-State Collusion Conducts First Search and Seizure of Shincheonji over Mass Party Membership Allegations

Yonhap News

According to legal sources on January 30, the joint investigation team began conducting searches and seizures from the morning at the Shincheonji headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, as well as at the Peace Training Center (Palace of Peace) in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province.

Shincheonji is suspected of having instructed its members to join the People Power Party and other parties as members in large numbers in order to ensure the election of certain candidates during various elections held around 2020.

It is reported that, during the investigation of former Shincheonji executives, the joint investigation team obtained testimony that Shincheonji encouraged its members to join the People Power Party as full members under the so-called "Pilates Project," resulting in tens of thousands of members joining the party as full members.

After Gyeonggi Province’s compulsory epidemiological investigation and police probe during the COVID-19 period, Shincheonji and progressive groups became antagonistic toward each other. Internal testimonies have also emerged indicating that Shincheonji sought to exert political influence through conservative circles as a result.

During the search and seizure on this day, the joint investigation team is expected to secure materials related to instructions for joining the People Power Party as members around the time of the 21st National Assembly election and the 20th presidential election.