SEOUL ¨C South Korean police raided the headquarters of the Unification Church on Monday and named its leader as a suspect in the bribery of several high-profile politicians.
The church, known for its mass weddings, is at the center of a mounting scandal in South Korea over alleged payments to lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties.
Prosecutors raided the church¡¯s headquarters in Seoul on Monday as well as the imposing countryside residence of leader Han Hak-ja, who is already on trial for allegedly offering bribes to the former first lady.
The Unification Church said it had ¡°no comment¡± on the raid.
However, its president said last week that the church felt ¡°deeply responsible for having caused concern to the public¡± and acknowledged ¡°its failure to detect misconduct within the organization at an early stage.¡±
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has strongly criticized what he described as ¡°political interference by religion,¡± without directly naming the church.
He asked officials last week to see whether there were grounds to ¡°dissolve religious groups that interfere in politics.¡±
Members of Lee¡¯s own Democratic Party have been implicated in the scandal.
Oceans minister Chun Jae-soo resigned last week after being accused of having received 30 million won ($20,500) in cash, as well as two luxury watches, from church officials between 2018 and 2020.
Chun called the claims ¡°completely false¡± and said he had offered to resign to avoid hurting the work of his ministry and Lee¡¯s government.
Local media reports had quoted unidentified sources as saying that a former Unification Church official told prosecutors about payments to members of parliament from Lee¡¯s Democratic Party, including Chun.
Chun said last week that he would use all legal means to hold accountable ¡°false reports and malicious distortions.¡±
Chun said it was the ¡°right thing to do¡± to step down to focus on addressing the allegations, which he said were ¡°absurd¡± and ¡°absolutely groundless.¡±
Lee had accepted Chun¡¯s resignation, Lee¡¯s office said on Thursday afternoon.
Church leader Han, also known to her followers as ¡°holy mother,¡± was arrested in September on charges of bribing South Korea¡¯s former first lady with gifts, including a Chanel handbag and a Graff diamond necklace.
The 82-year-old leader also faces graft charges over cash payments to a lawmaker linked to disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Yoon was arrested this year on insurrection charges, which he denies.
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