SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - Allegations that members of the Shincheonji religious group joined South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party en masse have intensified an already bitter leadership contest, prompting calls for a sweeping investigation into possible organized religious interference in party politics.
A joint investigation team comprising prosecutors and police has reportedly found signs that Shincheonji members collectively joined the Democratic Party in parts of the Seoul metropolitan area ahead of the June 3 local elections.
Investigators are looking into whether regional branches of the religious group attempted to influence Democratic Party primaries by supporting particular candidates, potentially in return for help with local issues such as obtaining approval to use buildings as religious facilities.
The development has deepened divisions between former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and former Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae, the two leading candidates in the party’s Aug. 17 leadership election.
Kim, who first publicly raised suspicions of Shincheonji interference in the contest, said Saturday that he had brought up the allegations regardless of whether doing so benefited his campaign.
“I raised the issue because I believe that, for the sake of history, justice and the future of the Republic of Korea, we must address what needs to be addressed,” Kim said during a lecture at the National Assembly.
Kim has alleged possible organized voting interference, dual party membership and the presence of “phantom members,” arguing that the matter has moved beyond an internal dispute between rival candidates and now requires an official investigation.
Jung agreed that organized religious involvement in politics must not be tolerated but accused Kim of using unverified allegations to attack a rival.
“Organized political intervention by a religious group is unconstitutional,” Jung wrote on Facebook. “It must be rooted out and prevented at its source. Investigate it thoroughly and disclose the findings transparently.”
He added, however, that “negative campaigning and political conspiracy theories have never led to success,” warning that attacks against fellow party members could damage the party.
Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party said the allegations, if substantiated, would amount to a grave attack on the democratic operation of political parties.
“If Shincheonji’s intervention is found to be true, it would constitute an incident that undermined the very foundation of intra-party democracy,” Yang told AJP.
“The People Power Party’s demand for a special counsel is a self-serving interpretation designed to suit its own interests,” he added.
Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party, chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a four-term lawmaker, told AJP, “Shincheonji’s intervention is shocking.”
“The voting behavior of Shincheonji members could determine the party leadership,” Seo said. “It is the height of collusion between religion and politics.”
She argued, “There must be a thorough investigation to sever the ties between religion and politics and hold legally accountable those believers who systematically interfered in the Democratic Party’s party affairs.”
The main opposition People Power Party has called on the ruling party to introduce a special prosecutor selected by the opposition, accusing the Democratic Party of applying a double standard after previously demanding an investigation into Shincheonji’s alleged mass enrollment in the PPP.
PPP deputy floor spokesperson Choi Soo-jin said Sunday that allegations initially raised by a former prime minister were beginning to be supported by evidence. She argued that leaving the inquiry solely to the existing joint investigation team would not ensure political neutrality.
The latest controversy emerged from a much broader investigation into allegations that Shincheonji systematically mobilized followers to join the PPP between 2021 and 2024.
Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old founder and leader of Shincheonji, was indicted in June on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act. Investigators allege that at least 56,472 followers were recruited as PPP members through campaigns that sometimes used coded names such as the “Pilates Project.”
Authorities suspect the campaign was intended to influence the PPP’s 2021 presidential primary and later candidate nomination contests, while helping the religious group secure favorable treatment on issues involving its properties and facilities.
Investigators say the instructions were delivered through Shincheonji’s hierarchy, from its headquarters and regional leaders to local congregations and separate organizations for young people, women and older members. Lee and Shincheonji have denied that he ordered or supervised organized party enrollment.
Shincheonji has also rejected claims that the presence of individual followers on party membership lists proves institutional interference. It has argued that treating the private political activities of believers as evidence against the church could infringe on freedom of religion.
Decades of political controversy
Suspicions surrounding Shincheonji’s political activities date back more than two decades.
Investigators have reportedly examined a 2003 internal document outlining ways to support Suh Chung-won in a leadership election for the Grand National Party, a predecessor of the PPP. The document allegedly proposed telephone campaigning, online promotional activities and the recruitment of young followers as party members.
Former Shincheonji officials have also alleged that followers were told to join the Grand National Party and participate in its 2007 presidential primary. One former member said followers were instructed to pay party dues and were told the church would later reimburse them.
These earlier claims did not result in the kind of large-scale criminal investigation now underway, and Shincheonji has denied allegations that it intervened in party elections.
The controversy gained new momentum following the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, when Shincheonji became the center of South Korea’s first major wave of infections.
Former members have told investigators that the organization subsequently sought to expand its political influence as it faced public criticism, government inspections and disputes over the use of its religious facilities.
Authorities are now investigating allegations that tens of thousands of followers were encouraged or pressured to join the PPP from 2021 onward, including claims that some of their names were passed to people connected to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s presidential campaign. Shincheonji and Lee have denied wrongdoing.
The investigation has now crossed party lines with the discovery of suspected group enrollment in the Democratic Party, raising the possibility that the organization sought influence wherever local political access could help resolve its institutional interests.
South Korea’s Constitution states that religion and politics must be separated. The Political Parties Act also prohibits forcing anyone to join or leave a political party and bars membership in multiple parties at the same time.
The central question for investigators will therefore be whether Shincheonji followers independently exercised their political rights or whether the group’s leadership secretly coordinated party enrollment and voting to influence candidates and secure benefits.
The answer could shape not only the Democratic Party’s leadership election but also a wider national reckoning over the influence of organized religious groups on South Korean politics.
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