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President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a New Yr’s press convention on Jan. 21, 2026, on the Blue Home visitor home. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
President Lee Jae Myung referred to as violations of the separation of church and state a “street to wreck for a rustic” that should be wholly eradicated as he addressed allegations that the Unification Church offered unlawful funds to politicians.
Lee talked about the potential of amending legal guidelines to impose harsher penalties for such acts. At present, political interference by spiritual teams might be punished based mostly on numerous political relations legal guidelines, such because the Political Events Act, the Public Official Election Act, and the Political Funds Act, in addition to the Felony Act.
Relating to latest discussions between the ruling and opposition events regarding the particular counsel probe investigating collusion between politics and faith, which focuses on the Unification Church and the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Lee acknowledged, “I do surprise if the Individuals Energy Get together is much less inclined to go forward with the investigation, and are solely appearing like they’re keen to proceed with the probe.”
The president’s feedback got here in the course of the New Yr’s press convention on Wednesday.
“That’s why I gave directions to have prosecutors and police perform a joint investigation — in case a consensus was not reached on establishing a particular counsel probe,” the president stated.
Police and prosecutors are at present investigating allegations that the Unification Church offered money and valuables to figures within the Democratic Get together, together with the previous lawmaker Chun Jae-soo, in addition to allegations that the Shincheonji sect interfered within the Individuals Energy Get together’s presidential major in 2021.
“From what I hear, Shincheonji began [meddling in politics] at the least as early because the early 2000s, and the Unification Church has additionally interfered fairly a bit,” the president stated. “There are some Protestant church buildings the place pastors are preaching ‘Dying to Lee Jae Myung’ and ‘For Korea to dwell, Lee Jae Myung should die,’ day in and day trip.”
“The road is fuzzy on whether or not these different church buildings have [interfered in politics or not], so we haven’t performed something but, however I think that ultimately it will likely be one thing that will get regarded into,” he stated.
“While you until a discipline, you don’t sift by it for each stone, large and small. You sort out the massive ones first, then ultimately you’re employed your option to the smaller ones,” the president quipped.
“Violations of the separation of church and state can’t be tolerated,” Lee stated, saying that they need to be “punished to the fullest extent.”
“I don’t assume that these spiritual teams and figures are conscious of how critical an offense it represents. It’s like they’ve been given a gun to defend the nation, however as an alternative they’re saying, ‘Effectively, it’s my gun to shoot as I please,’ and pointing the barrel at the remainder of the nation,” he stated, likening it to “an act of sedition.”
By Kim Hae-jeong, employees reporter
Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]
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