Joint probe into political-religious ties ends after eight months, indicting 32 including Shincheonji and Unification Church leaders

A South Korean joint prosecution and police task force has ended an eight-month investigation into alleged political ties involving Shincheonji and the Unification Church, sending 32 people to trial.

The task force said 16 Shincheonji officials and 16 Unification Church officials were indicted. It accused Shincheonji leader Lee Man-hee and former secretary-general Go Dong-an of forcing followers to join the People Power Party as dues-paying members to influence several party and election contests between 2021 and 2024.

Investigators also accused Shincheonji of disguising the operation of shops at 70 branches under followers’ names between 2016 and 2020. They said the organization kept double accounts and concealed cash sales, evading about 7.57 billion won in corporate and value-added taxes. Go was separately indicted over allegations that he diverted about 1.9 billion won for legal costs and obtained 4.1 billion won by misleading 12 regional branches during a land sale.

A senior Shincheonji official was also indicted over allegations that dozens of followers joined a political party to help a Democratic Party candidate for mayor of Goyang. Investigators applied election-law charges, but said they found no evidence that the organization’s leader or central body had ordered followers to join a specific party.

The Unification Church investigation focused on alleged illegal political donations. Prosecutors said church networks gave about 189 million won in 218 payments to 132 lawmakers and other politicians from September 2019 to January of the previous year. Several former officials were indicted. Leader Hak Ja Han and former chief of staff Jeong Won-ju were not referred for prosecution over direct participation because investigators said the evidence was insufficient, although four people, including Han and former executive Yoon Young-ho, faced embezzlement charges. Investigators said they seized about 26 billion won in cash from Han’s personal safe and are pursuing asset-preservation measures. Former lawmaker Jeon Jae-soo was cleared over alleged cash and luxury-watch payments because the statute of limitations had expired, while four aides were indicted on evidence-destruction allegations.