PPP's Kim Gi-hyeon denies Unification Church members influenced 2023 party leadership race
Published: 15 Nov. 2025, 14:26
![In this file photo, Kim Gi-hyeon gives an acceptance speech after being elected leader of the People Power Party on March 8, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/15/9309d701-8fc4-4a6c-b594-184ea09bdf9d.jpg)
In this file photo, Kim Gi-hyeon gives an acceptance speech after being elected leader of the People Power Party on March 8, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]
Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the People Power Party (PPP) on Saturday denied allegations that members of the Unification Church joined the party en masse during the 2023 leadership race to boost his bid for party leader, calling the claim “baseless” and “a politically driven attempt to force a narrative."
In a written statement, Kim said, “I want to make clear that this allegation is entirely untrue.”
The office of Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, which has been investigating alleged ties between the Unification Church and the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, stated in an indictment that more than 2,400 church members joined the PPP ahead of the March 2023 leadership vote with the intention of supporting Kim.
Kim argued that such a number could not have influenced the election.
“I won with 244,163 votes — 52.93 percent of the 461,313 ballots cast — more than double the 107,803 votes, or 23.37 percent, received by the runner-up,” he said. “The idea that 2,400 new members could have changed that outcome is simply illogical.”
He also denied any knowledge of alleged contact between former first lady Kim Keon Hee and Unification Church officials.
“I have never known anything about what may have occurred between the first lady and Unification Church officials,” he said. “I never sought the group’s support, was never informed that they intended to support me and did not hear anything about the Unification Church during the leadership race.”
Kim added that he had never met or spoken by phone with any Unification Church officials before, during or after the election.
“I have no relationship whatsoever with the Unification Church,” he said. “For that reason, I do not even know whether the group supported me during the leadership election.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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