Task force raids seven Unification Church locations over suspected illegal political donations
Published: 23 Jan. 2026, 14:41
![The Unification Church’s main compound, Cheon Jeong Palace, in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi, is seen on Jan. 18. [SON SUNG-BAE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/23/3c05826d-53a7-4cf0-884f-971317a349f1.jpg)
The Unification Church’s main compound, Cheon Jeong Palace, in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi, is seen on Jan. 18. [SON SUNG-BAE]
A joint probe team of prosecutors and police on Friday raided multiple sites linked to the Unification Church, escalating an investigation into suspected illegal political donations and possible collusion between religious organizations and lawmakers.
Investigators carried out search-and-seizure operations at seven church-related locations, including Cheon Jeong Palace, the church’s headquarters in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi. Authorities suspect that the church systematically funneled money to members of the National Assembly in violation of the Political Funds Act.
The warrants cite suspected breaches of election and political funding laws. Investigators are examining whether the church used a so-called split donation scheme, in which organizational funds are broken into smaller sums and donated under individuals’ names to evade legal limits.
The investigation follows the indictment of Song Kwang-seok, a former head of the Universal Peace Federation, an organization affiliated with the church. Prosecutors allege that Song disguised 13 million won ($8,900) in corporate funds as personal donations and delivered them to fund-raising committees for 11 lawmakers from both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party in January 2019.
Prosecutors suspect a quid pro quo, believing that many of the lawmakers who received the donations served on the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and were closely tied to long-sought church-backed projects such as the Korea-Japan undersea tunnel.
![Photos of Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, right, and the late founder Moon Sun-myung hang in the lobby of the church’s Korean headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul, on Dec. 15, 2025. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/23/33376d19-0b97-4ae1-b2d3-da81bb1c7562.jpg)
Photos of Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, right, and the late founder Moon Sun-myung hang in the lobby of the church’s Korean headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul, on Dec. 15, 2025. [NEWS1]
After summoning Song for questioning Thursday, the joint probe team is now focusing on securing accounting records and other materials that could show lobbying targeting politicians through Friday’s raids.
The investigation is also honing in on whether the alleged wrongdoing went beyond Song and involved the church’s top leadership.
When prosecutors indicted Song, they concluded further investigation was needed into church leader Han Hak-ja, former chief of staff Jeong Won-ju and former global headquarters chief Youn Young-ho, and transferred the case to the joint probe team.
Once analysis of the seized materials is complete, the team plans to summon key church officials in turn to press them on the source of the donations and whether any political favors were expected in return.
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 KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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