Investigation Launched into 'Unification Church Bribery Allegations'... Unification Church Issues Public Apology

[Financial News] The police have launched a full-scale investigation into the 'Unification Church's alleged support for the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)' by establishing a special task force of 23 members. Meanwhile, the Unification Church has issued a public apology. However, regarding the allegations against former Unification Church World Headquarters Director Yoon Young-ho, the organization drew a line, calling it an 'individual's deviation.'
According to the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) National Office of Investigation on the 12th, the Major Crime Investigation Division formed a 23-member special investigation team the previous day to look into allegations of bribery involving political figures and the Unification Church. Park Chang-hwan, who returned to the police from the special prosecutor Cho Eun-seok’s team, will lead the task force.
On the previous afternoon, investigators from the special team visited the Seoul Detention Center and questioned former Director Yoon Young-ho for about three hours. They reportedly reviewed his statements made during the special prosecutor’s investigation and in court, examining the credibility of the allegations he raised.
The bribery allegations involving the Unification Church originated from testimony obtained by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team from Yoon Young-ho, who claimed that the Unification Church had supported politicians from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) as well as the People Power Party. At the time, the special prosecutor determined that this was outside the scope of their investigation and did not pursue it directly, which sparked controversy over alleged bias. The case was later assigned a preliminary investigation number and transferred to the National Office of Investigation.
As these allegations spread within political circles, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) Korea Association issued a public apology on the evening of the previous day. This is the first time the association has released a public apology under the president’s name since the investigation into the Unification Church bribery allegations began.
In his statement, President Song Yongcheon said, "I deeply bow my head in apology for causing great disappointment and concern to the public." He continued, "The FFWPU has always been educated to uphold the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and the separation of religion and state as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. While we are a faith community that respects and abides by these principles, we failed to ensure that they were properly implemented in the actual operation of our organization."
He added, "Although the actions of former Director Yoon Young-ho, which recently caused a stir through his court testimony, were an individual’s unilateral deviation, it is clearly the organization’s responsibility for failing to detect and prevent such misconduct in advance. Through this incident, our federation painfully recognizes the severe lack of internal systems and management mechanisms to detect and control such deviations within the organization."
He further emphasized, "We will take this incident as a painful lesson and make the 'restoration of trust and public interest with Korean society' the top priority in our church operations. We will strictly adhere to political neutrality, establish financial transparency and governance systems, and place public interest and social responsibility at the forefront of our organizational values."
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter