Representative Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party, who is suspected of soliciting favors from the Unification Church, appears as a suspect at the office of Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, tasked with investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee, at the KT Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 27th. August 27, 2025. Yonhap News

The Special Prosecutor’s team led by Min Joong-ki, which is investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee, requested an arrest warrant for People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong on August 28 on charges of violating the Political Funds Act. This marks the first time in the history of special investigations that a warrant has been requested for a sitting lawmaker, making political repercussions inevitable.

The special prosecutor’s office stated that it had uncovered evidence suggesting that Representative Kweon received 100 million won from a Unification Church official in early 2022 and assisted with the sect's pending issues. Furthermore, the investigation has expanded to include allegations that he received support through the organized enlistment of Unification Church members during the 2023 People Power Party national convention. Representative Kweon has vehemently denied the charges, asserting, "I am innocent, and therefore, I have nothing to hide."

The reason this case is causing such a significant stir is its timing, coinciding with the Korea-U.S. working-level summit held a day earlier on August 27 (Korea Standard Time). During the summit, U.S. President Donald Trump directly stated, "South Korea’s religious oppression is a serious issue that undermines the trust of our alliance."

This remark was immediately interpreted as an indirect criticism of the investigation into the Unification Church, which President Lee Jae-myung defended as "measures based on judicial justice." The fact that the arrest warrant for Representative Kweon was requested only a day later is bound to be perceived as a de facto "judicial counterattack" against Trump's comments.

At this juncture, a clear clash of values emerges. While President Trump pressured South Korea by emphasizing the American value of "religious freedom," the Special Prosecutor and the Lee Jae-myung administration are countering with the justification of "judicial justice."

The case is revealing opaque relationships between religious groups and the political sphere, and even a scenario where a foreign leader appears to be directly or indirectly interfering in South Korea's judicial processes, thereby heightening variables of conflict within the Korea-U.S. alliance.

The National Assembly now faces a procedural test regarding the handling of a motion to arrest him.

Given that the special prosecutor’s office is an independent agency not subject to the direction of the Ministry of Justice, the communication process between the government and the National Assembly remains unclear. Depending on the outcome of the vote, the case is expected to move beyond the individual legal responsibility of Representative Kweon and sit at a sensitive intersection of the credibility of Korea’s political system, judicial independence, and Korea-U.S. relations.

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