"Shincheonji Told Members to Join the DPK Too"... JIH Stayed Silent Despite Securing Testimony

The Joint Prosecutor-Police Investigation Task Force, which is probing allegations of corruption involving collusion between religion and politics and is led by Kim Tae-hoon, chief prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, has reportedly obtained testimony that a Shincheonji official instructed believers to join not only the People Power Party but also the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). However, it said it found no evidence that the church headquarters systematically pressured members to join the DPK.
On the 28th, the Joint Investigation Headquarters (JIH) said, "During the investigation, some former Shincheonji members testified that around late 2022, a branch official tried to get believers to join the People Power Party, and when they showed reluctance, told them to join the DPK as well."
It added, however, that interviews with related parties and analysis of seized materials showed differences in how members joined the People Power Party and the DPK.
Regarding the People Power Party, JIH said, "It was confirmed that the church headquarters systematically forced party membership by instructing members to join, assigning quotas by branch, and collecting the results." By contrast, it explained that for the DPK, "no evidence was found of organized, headquarters-level pressure to join the party, as in the case of the People Power Party."
JIH said it had confirmed that some Shincheonji members joined the DPK in parts of the Seoul metropolitan area ahead of last year's June 3 local elections, and that it is currently investigating the case on suspicion of violating the Public Official Election Act. A JIH official rejected some media reports that the task force had secured testimony about DPK membership but failed to investigate, saying, "We are conducting the investigation in accordance with the law and principles."
Earlier, some media outlets reported that JIH had obtained testimony in March, while questioning former Shincheonji members, that the youth leader of the Simon Tribe, which oversees Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, had ordered members to join both the People Power Party and the DPK ahead of the 2022 local elections, but that no investigation into the DPK was carried out.
In February and March, JIH raided the People Power Party headquarters and a company entrusted with managing its membership roster, then compared the party list with Shincheonji member records. It later indicted Lee Man-hee, the church chairman, and a former general affairs chief of the Simon Tribe on charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstructing business, saying they had been arrested and charged for allegedly organizing and forcing believers to join the People Power Party.
Some critics say the allegations involving DPK membership are being treated as less significant than the People Power Party case. JIH says the People Power Party case involved confirmed, organized pressure from the church headquarters to join the party, leading to charges under the Political Parties Act, while the DPK case is being investigated under the Public Official Election Act, focusing on whether party membership was sought to support primary elections at the request of a local campaign.
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter