Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated at a cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th, "I ask all ministries to thoroughly investigate cults such as the Unification Church and Shincheonji through joint investigations, and to seek measures to eradicate the harms of pseudo-religions and heresies in their respective areas." [Photo = Yonhap News]
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced a strict investigation into the Unification Church, Shincheonji, and others at the outset of a cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul on the morning of the 13th, stating, "Pseudo-religions and heresies are social evils that must be eradicated."

Amid interpretations that Shincheonji was included to dilute the issue of the 'Unification Church connection,' which has become the administration's Achilles' heel, attention is focused on how much and in what way the Lee Jae-myung administration will address the Unification Church.

The Unification Church case began on June 12th of last year when Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church World Headquarters, appeared as a witness to the special prosecutor's team led by Min Jung-gi, which was investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

Attempted to Link First Lady Kim Keon-hee... Yoon Young-ho, from 'Witness' to 'Whistleblower'

In the middle of last year, while investigating the public activities of First Lady Kim Keon-hee, the Min Jung-gi special prosecutor's team received intelligence that the Unification Church had approached powerful figures in the ruling party for 'domestic real estate business.' In particular, as internal accounting records of the Unification Church and testimonies from involved parties were secured, indicating that Yoon Young-ho had delivered luxury watches and cash worth tens of millions of won to ruling party officials, the special prosecutor's team urgently summoned him.

Although Yoon Young-ho denied the charges during his initial investigation, upon hearing that the denomination was trying to shift the blame to him, he appeared before the special prosecutor's team again a week later, on June 19th, and confessed, "I personally delivered the money and watches," beginning to reveal a 'lobbying list' with the real names and specific amounts for about 10 politicians from both ruling and opposition parties, including then-Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Jae-soo and People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong.

Based on this testimony, the special prosecutor's team, on July 2nd of last year, abruptly arrested Yoon Young-ho on charges of bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act. Subsequently, the information that came from him was transferred to the police, triggering the 'Unification Church Gate' domino effect that led to the resignation of Minister Jeon Jae-soo in December of last year and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum's order for a strict investigation on the 13th.

The Background of Jeon Jae-soo's Six-Month Stance

When Yoon Young-ho revealed the lobbying list on June 19th of last year, Jeon Jae-soo, a three-term lawmaker of the Democratic Party, was preparing for his confirmation hearing after being nominated as the first Minister of Oceans and Fisheries in the Lee Jae-myung administration. Jeon Jae-soo was officially inaugurated as the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries on July 24th after his hearing, but approximately 140 days after his inauguration, on December 11th of the same year, amid allegations of receiving money and luxury watches from the Unification Church, he abruptly resigned, stating, "Although these are groundless allegations, I will act as a public official."

Although the lobbying list was released on June 19th, at that time, Jeon Jae-soo was in the stage of being nominated as a minister, meaning just before the cabinet appointments were announced on June 23rd. Therefore, if the Lee Jae-myung administration acknowledged these allegations, it would have jeopardized the entire cabinet appointment. Fearing this, they pushed for his appointment, arguing, "These are just the suspect's testimonies to the special prosecutor, with no physical evidence."

At that time, the investigation was delayed as the Min Jung-gi special prosecutor's team transferred the case to the police, stating it was beyond their scope of investigation. In the interim, the government, leveraging the "numerical superiority of the large opposition party," pushed for the appointment without adopting the confirmation hearing report. This is the background that allowed the allegations concerning Jeon Jae-soo to remain dormant for six months.

However, in late November, as the police secured the warranty for the luxury watch allegedly delivered to Jeon Jae-soo from an official at the Unification Church's holy site, 'Cheonjeong-gung,' and the confession of the personal secretary involved in the delivery, the allegations resurfaced in December, ultimately leading to his resignation.

Jeon Jae-soo is an "original pro-Moon" (pro-Moon Jae-in) figure who previously served as the second deputy secretary of the Blue House during President Roh Moo-hyun's participatory government. However, during the 20th presidential primary, he declared his support for Lee Jae-myung and joined the pro-Lee faction. Since then, he has been classified as a key figure within the pro-Lee faction, designing key pledges of the Lee Jae-myung administration such as the 'relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan' as the 'representative PK candidate' to strengthen his support base in the southeastern region, and being strongly mentioned as a candidate for the next Busan mayor.

Symbol of Unbiased Investigation... "Sorry, let's settle for Jeon Jae-soo"

However, Jeon Jae-soo is not the only pro-Lee faction member linked to the Unification Church connection. Former lawmaker Lim Jong-seong and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young are also considered key figures in the pro-Lee faction.

Lim Jong-seong is a core member of the '7-man group,' Lee Jae-myung's closest confidantes since his time as Seongnam Mayor, and is regarded as a 'key power player who moves organization and funds' within the pro-Lee faction. He also served as the Gyeonggi Provincial Party Chairman, overseeing the party organization in Gyeonggi Province, the political home of President Lee Jae-myung. Holding the leadership of the Gyeonggi Provincial Party, the largest constituency in the Democratic Party, signifies that he had complete control over the party's grassroots organization and election fund flow based on Lee Jae-myung's deep trust.

The reason why he cannot be openly targeted and investigated like Jeon Jae-soo is that if Lim Jong-seong were to fall, the Achilles' heel of the current regime – the source of funds for the pro-Lee faction's organizational operations and election support – would be completely exposed, shaking the legitimacy of the regime to its core. He is pointed to as the 'terminal station' for allegations that the current regime received Unification Church funds to manage pro-Lee faction organizations and lead election support.

In short, Lim Jong-seong is like the 'mistress of the pro-Lee faction,' holding the reins of organization and funding. He is also considered a 'problem solver' within the Unification Church. Therefore, while the Lee Jae-myung administration seeks weapons to attack the non-Lee faction through him, they are also treating him as the most dangerous and important figure to manage so that the flames do not spread to the regime.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is also not to be underestimated. Although there is less concrete evidence against Chung Dong-young compared to Lim Jong-seong, he was implicated in the investigation due to Yoon Young-ho's revelations. In December of last year, he issued a statement admitting to meeting Yoon Young-ho once for about 10 minutes around September 2021, during his time outside of politics. However, he fully denied the allegations, stating it was a brief meeting regarding Unification issues and that he received no money or met with President Han Hak-ja.

The opposition parties, including the People Power Party, have demanded his immediate dismissal, claiming his involvement in the Unification Church connection. However, as of January 2026, he is still serving as minister, attending the Unification Ministry's New Year's ceremony and reporting on work plans.

In short, Lim Jong-seong is extensively recorded in Unification Church internal documents as an 'executor' who resolved business grievances at the parliamentary level, whereas Chung Dong-young is in a relatively less burdensome situation, facing attacks on his 'political integrity' due to the revelation of past contact.

The analysis is that Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is carefully handling them while targeting Jeon Jae-soo by name, because he is looking for an opportunity to target non-Lee faction figures through the physical evidence against Lim Jong-seong, while also calculating the impact on the entire cabinet if a major pro-Lee figure like Chung Dong-young were to fall.

Kim Boo-kyum's 'Strict Investigation': The Underlying Intent

The joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police is currently maintaining the travel ban on Jeon Jae-soo for charges of bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act, and is coordinating his summoning schedule. However, with Kim Boo-kyum's announcement, judicial 처리가 (processing) such as the request for an arrest warrant is expected to accelerate.

Regarding the Lee Jae-myung administration's delayed order for a strict investigation, despite allegations surfacing in June of last year, the prevailing view is that "they intend to preemptively drain the festering wound that is Jeon Jae-soo, and use it as justification to attack the larger body of the non-Lee faction."

There are three cold and meticulous calculations behind pushing for a strict investigation, even though the key figures in the allegations are 'pro-Lee elites'.

△ The 'flesh and bone' strategy of sacrificing oneself to cut off the bone (肉斬骨斷)

The Lee Jae-myung administration is most wary of the entire regime collapsing into a 'gate' by clumsily trying to cover up the corruption of pro-Lee elites like Jeon Jae-soo, which has already been exposed to the public. Amid calls for a special prosecutor from the opposition, they aim to control the level and scope of the investigation by having the government, i.e., the joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police, directly wield the investigative authority, even if it means accepting the sacrifice of legally processing one or two individuals.

Ming and Qing Showdown... The Main Act of a Real Battle Begins

△ Preemptive strike to block a 'special prosecutor'

If a 'Unification Church special prosecutor,' demanded by the opposition parties like the People Power Party and the internal non-Lee faction, i.e., the Chung Rhae-jung faction, is established, investigative authority will escape government control. However, if the government preemptively seals the deal by stating, "we are conducting a strict investigation," it creates grounds to reject the opposition's demand for a special prosecutor. Ultimately, the Lee Jae-myung administration's intention is to block the investigation by a special prosecutor and conclude the case within the investigation headquarters under government control.

△ 'Mutual destruction' pressure towards the non-Lee faction (pro-Moon)

'Mutual destruction' means 'not sparing one's own life to bring down the opponent and dying together,' or 'I will also suffer fatal wounds or die, but I will definitely take you with me.' In other words, it is a more elegant expression of 'you die, I die' or a 'ghost-pulling' operation.

The list secured by the current investigation team includes not only pro-Lee faction members but also more than 15 non-Lee faction members who have maintained a relationship with the Unification Church since the Moon Jae-in administration. Therefore, this announcement of a strict investigation is a strategy to "use the justification of investigating the corruption of our key figures like Jeon Jae-soo to uncover the links of the non-Lee faction as well, causing them to suffer fatal political damage together."

If the 'strict investigation' announced by Kim Boo-kyum begins, it will not be a battle between the ruling and opposition parties, but a desperate showdown between Lee Jae-myung's faction and the non-Lee faction, i.e., the Chung Rhae-jung faction, within the Democratic Party.

Furthermore, it will be a point of observation whether the Unification Church, which owns one of the leading conservative media outlets in the United States, the Washington Post, has been a key donor to the US Republican Party for a long time, and particularly has a 'direct line' to the Trump administration, will be easily dismantled.

By Reporter Park Hye-soo