The People Power Party called for a rigorous investigation by authorities into allegations that the religious group Shincheonji infiltrated the Democratic Party of Korea, following claims raised by former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok.
Kim, who is running for the Democratic Party leadership, alleged that "the essence of this party convention ultimately comes down to a great battle against disguised anti-Lee Jae Myung divisionism and Shincheonji," raising suspicions of organized religious interference in the party's leadership race.
The PPP seized on Kim's remarks to demand that President Lee Jae Myung direct the joint investigative body to open a probe.
PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said at a party caucus Thursday that "we cannot dismiss the revelations of a former prime minister who served until recently and is now running for ruling party leader with the president's full backing."
Jeong said the joint police-prosecution task force investigating alleged ties between Shincheonji and political circles had so far focused solely on allegations related to PPP membership. "The joint investigative body must immediately launch an investigation into allegations of Shincheonji's interference in the Democratic Party convention," he said, adding that if the body had known of such interference and investigated only the PPP, "that would be a clear case of opposition suppression and targeted prosecution." He urged that the Democratic Party be investigated "fairly and rigorously."
Secretary-General Jung Seok-jun said at Thursday's floor strategy meeting that a Democratic Party lawmaker had disclosed a tip that Shincheonji referred to the party as the "blue ribbon" and had carried out organized membership drives and duplicate registrations. He noted that President Lee, at his New Year's press conference in January, had called the alleged ties between religion and politics "a path to national ruin" and vowed to "root it out without fail." "If that is the standard and principle, then allegations of Shincheonji's interference in the Democratic Party must be thoroughly investigated by the same measure," Jung said.
Jung said the joint investigative body had conducted coercive searches, including search-and-seizure operations at PPP headquarters in February and March, and asked whether the public would accept the body staying silent or making exceptions regarding alleged interference in the Democratic Party convention. He called on President Lee to "direct the joint investigative body to launch an immediate and rigorous investigation into allegations of Shincheonji's interference in the Democratic Party convention, and to make clear the principle that no one is above the law."
Senior floor spokesperson Choi Su-jin said in a statement that if a specific religious group had systematically interfered in a ruling party convention to elect its leader and built a secret alliance with political circles in violation of members' sovereignty, "that would constitute a violation of the Political Parties Act and a serious criminal act in direct breach of the constitutional principle of separation of religion and state."
Choi added that if the allegations had been made without any objective basis in order to seize party leadership — amounting to a smear campaign and the spread of false information — "that would be a grave political crime that thoroughly deceives the public and party members." "Either way, the truth must be revealed so that the public can be satisfied," she said.
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