Investigators attempt to raid main opposition party headquarters to secure membership list, amid church recruitment allegations
A special counsel has asked a local court to issue an arrest warrant for Han Hak-ja, the leader of the Unification Church, on allegations she directed church funds to Rep. Kweon Seong-dong in exchange for political support from the previous President Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
The request came a day after investigators questioned Han and arrested the former People Power Party floor leader. The team also requested an arrest warrant for Han's former chief of staff, surnamed Jeong.
The two are accused of violating the Political Funds Act and anti-graft laws, embezzlement, and suborning evidence destruction, assistant special counsel Park Sang-jin said Thursday. The Seoul Central District Court is expected to hold hearings next week to decide whether to issue the arrest warrants.
Investigators believe Han colluded with a former church official in 2022 to give 100 million won ($72,400) to Rep. Kweon in exchange for favors if Yoon won the presidency. Han is also suspected of providing luxury gifts to Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee.
Han has denied involvement, saying the former official acted alone. Jeong is suspected of delivering the cash and, with Han, ordering the destruction of evidence linked to Han’s overseas gambling, which Kweon allegedly tipped them off about.
Earlier in the day, investigators attempted a search of the headquarters of the main opposition People Power Party.
Led by special counsel Min Joong-ki, the investigators were looking for records of the party’s membership.
One of the key allegations in the investigation is that the religious group interfered in the party’s leadership race by enlisting church members to join the party and support Rep. Kweon’s bid for floor leader in 2023.
Though the special counsel team previously attempted two separate search and seizure operations in August at the People Power Party headquarters and National Assembly offices, they had to withdraw both times due to resistance from the party.
The main opposition party also refused to comply with Thursday's search, criticizing the special counsel’s actions to take the personal information of all 5 million party members as an “outrageous abuse of power.”
The special counsel team said that it had requested the People Power Party's membership list over a certain period of time to compare it with a list of Unification Church members to check allegations of a concentrated surge in party membership.
Han has denied the allegations against her.
Asked why she made a payment of 100 million won to Kweon, Han retorted while leaving a building in Seoul after the special counsel questioning, “Why would I have to do that?”
When pressed by reporters on whether she had directly ordered lobbying on key issues concerning the Unification Church, she shouted, “That’s not true.”
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
