Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon has called for the dissolution of both the Democratic Party of Korea and the special counsel investigating First Lady Kim Keon-hee, accusing them of covering up alleged illegal funds received from the Unification Church.
"It has been reported that the Unification Church testified to Special Counsel Min Joong-ki that it gave illegal money to prominent Democratic Party politicians, yet the special counsel covered it up without investigation or indictment," Han wrote on social media Wednesday.
"If this report is true, calling Min's special counsel a 'political prosecution' would be too generous," Han said. "He is nothing but a 'subcontractor for the Democratic Party.'"
Han accused the special counsel of media manipulation, saying it announced plans to summon him as a witness as a diversion after the Kim Hyun-ji issue emerged, which had put the Democratic Party administration in difficulty. "While doing that, the special counsel was covering up Democratic Party crimes behind the scenes," he said.
Han also criticized acting President Lee Jae-myung, saying Lee "made an absurd statement about dissolving religious organizations that interfere in politics while essentially pointing to the Unification Church." He added, "If we follow his logic, the Democratic Party that received Unification Church money and Special Counsel Min, who has become the ruling party's subcontractor, should be dissolved first."
In a separate post, Han wrote that Special Counsel Min, "who excluded only the Democratic Party from the Unification Church bribery investigation," would be "the worst target for the unconstitutional 'judicial distortion crime' that the Democratic Party is enthusiastically pushing."
"Even without the unconstitutional judicial distortion crime, he should be immediately detained under current law for dereliction of duty and abuse of power," Han said. "If the Democratic Party wants to claim the large sums and watches they received from the Unification Church are legal, they should confess that they have been taking Unification Church money all along."
Former Unification Church World Headquarters Director Yoon Young-ho reportedly testified to the special counsel that he "gave tens of millions of won to two Democratic Party lawmakers." The individuals Yoon identified include one sitting 22nd National Assembly member and one former lawmaker.
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok also weighed in on social media Wednesday, saying, "The political retaliation and political suppression targeting the opposition must stop immediately. I strongly urge an immediate investigation into the allegations of the Democratic Party receiving money from the Unification Church."
Song noted that Yoon had clearly testified in court that "from 2017 to 2021, we were much closer to the Democratic Party than to the People Power Party," and that he "told the special counsel everything about support for Democratic Party figures" and "submitted a list of four people including minister-level officials and National Assembly members."
"Yet Special Counsel Min covered up these serious criminal allegations despite knowing about them," Song said. "The special counsel that conducted indiscriminate raids on the opposition day and night shows no willingness to investigate the Democratic Party."
Song added that "it has been revealed that Special Counsel Min's Unification Church investigation was a biased retaliatory investigation targeting former floor leader Kwon Seong-dong and the People Power Party," proving once again that "the special counsel is a puppet that moves according to the regime's wishes."
Democratic Party spokesperson Baek Seung-ah responded in a written briefing, saying, "Although some Unification Church regional leaders supported Democratic Party politicians, support itself is not illegal." She explained that "unlike the People Power Party's illegal support through organized mobilization, this did not rise to the level of investigation."
