Searches Conducted at Gwacheon Headquarters and Gapyeong Palace of Peace
The joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, which is investigating allegations of collusion between the Unification Church and Shincheonji with political and religious circles, has launched a compulsory investigation into Shincheonji. This is the first time since the joint team was established on January 6 that they have begun a compulsory investigation into Shincheonji.
According to the legal community on January 30, the joint investigation team began conducting search and seizure operations 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 instructing its members to join the People Power Party and other parties as members in large numbers in order to help elect specific candidates in various elections held around 2020.
During the investigation of former Shincheonji executives, the joint team reportedly obtained testimony that Shincheonji encouraged its members to become full members of the People Power Party under the so-called "Pilates Project," resulting in tens of thousands of members joining the party as full members.
It has also been reported that, after the forced epidemiological investigation and police probe by Gyeonggi Province during the COVID-19 period, Shincheonji and progressive groups became adversaries, and there is internal testimony that Shincheonji then sought to exert political influence through conservative circles.
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 general election and the 20th presidential election.
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