South Korea's Political Scandal: President Orders Probe into Church-Politician Ties

Lee said the investigation should be carried out "in a strict manner regardless of whether they are from the ruling or opposition parties or whether their positions are high or low," the presidential office said in a press notice, without specifying any religious group, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Although Lee stopped short of mentioning the Unification Church by name, the instruction came as new allegations have surfaced that lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) accepted illegal political funds from the church, which has been under investigation by a special counsel for allegedly providing funds to People Power Party lawmakers ahead of the 2022 presidential race.

The remarks mark Lee's latest call to sever long-standing collusive ties between the political sphere and religious organisations, apparently targeting the Unification Church.

"The president has strongly committed to completely uprooting collusive ties between politics and religion this time," a senior presidential official said on condition of anonymity. "This shows how seriously he is taking this issue."

Lee believes that if improper contacts with religious groups or illegal acts are confirmed, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties should be investigated equally, the official added.

During a Cabinet meeting last week, Lee described the systematic interference in politics by certain religious groups as a violation of the Constitution and called for a review of measures to dissolve religious groups found to have committed illegal acts, citing a similar precedent in Japan.

In March, a Japanese court ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church over manipulative fundraising and other illegal acts, stripping it of tax-exempt status.

At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Lee revisited the issue, asking Minister of Government Legislation Cho Won-cheol whether he had looked into his instructions to review measures to dissolve religious groups involved in political interference or providing illegal funds.

Later in the day, a former Unification Church official embroiled in a corruption case linked to the administration of former President Yoon Suk Yeol was expected to name the DP lawmakers he claims took money from the church during a final trial hearing.

Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church's global headquarters, is accused of giving luxury gifts to former first lady Kim Keon Hee, Yoon's wife, in exchange for business favours in 2022.

The disclosure would deal a severe blow to the DP and the Lee administration, which have framed special counsel investigations into Yun and church leader Han Hak-ja as a case of corrupt ties between a religious group and the former Yoon administration.

On Tuesday, the special counsel referred a case involving alleged ties between the Unification Church and DP lawmakers to police, following criticism that its probe had previously targeted only opposition lawmakers.

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- IANS