Yoon Young-ho, former head of the world headquarters of the Unification Church, reportedly stated in a meeting with Min Jung-ki's special prosecutor team that the reason for handing over money and valuables to Rep. Jeon Jae-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea was, "It would be good to know the former lawmaker, who is a heavyweight in the Moon Jae In administration."
As a result of the Hankyoreh report on the 12th, the independent counsel team interviewed Yoon at the end of August and secured a statement that "(Former lawmaker) gave money and valuables because he was an influential figure in the Moon Jae In regime." Yoon, the former head of the headquarters, said in 2018 that he "delivered about 30 million won in luxury watches and cash to lawmaker Jeon in a small box," and added, "Former lawmaker Jeon refused, but said, 'It's okay to receive it because it's a blessing in disguise,' and took it."
In this regard, the independent counsel team confirmed in the Special Report on Korean Studies, which appears to have been prepared on September 10, 2018, that "Former lawmaker Jeon, who recently visited Cheonjeong Palace (the holy site of the Unification Church), decided to actively cooperate with our work," and that the names of former lawmaker Jeon and heavyweights of the Moon Jae In government were written together in a special report on May 17 of the same year, four months earlier. The independent counsel team is said to estimate that between the two special reports (May 17 to September 10, 2018), the time when lawmaker Jeon received money from the Unification Church. Yoon stated in the special prosecution that he handed over the money to Jeon for the purpose of "grafting unification issues," but did not mention specific issues such as the Korea-Japan undersea tunnel.
"Before the 2020 general election, I delivered 30 million won each to former Democratic Party lawmaker Im Jong-sung and former Future United Party lawmaker Kim Kyu-hwan," Yoon said. "I encouraged him to do well in the general election." The special prosecution team also reportedly prepared an investigation report to the effect that "Rep. Chung Dong-young (Unification Minister) refused money and valuables, and Rep. Na Kyung-won visited Cheonjeong Palace, but she did not know about the money and goods." The special prosecution team handed over the case to the police and pointed out the former lawmaker and three former lawmakers, Lim and Kim, as alleged bribery.
Meanwhile, Jeon strongly denies not only receiving money and valuables but also visiting Cheonjeong Palace, a sacred place for the Unification Church. On the previous day, when he resigned as the minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Jeon refuted the allegations, saying, "There was no illegal receipt of money and goods." Both Lim and Kim actively deny the allegations, saying they did not receive any money and valuables.
Reporter Bae Ji-hyun beep@hani.co.kr
"What needs to be done is to properly investigate certain political figures, indict any illegal acts, and ensure they are punished. A special prosecutor, by its nature, cannot conduct investigations; its role ends with handing over the records. If necessary, we can even establish a special investigation into the Unification Church — to uncover who received how much."
