Yun Younger-ho, the previous director common of the Unification Church’s world headquarters, departs from Seoul Central District Courtroom on July 30, 2025, after showing earlier than a decide reviewing a request for a warrant for his detention on suspicion of bribery. (Yoon Woon-sik/Hankyoreh)
New proof introduced in court docket means that earlier than South Korea’s 2022 presidential election, a longtime Unification Church official who serves as vp of the church’s Segye Ilbo newspaper schemed to actively assist Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential bid on the Individuals Energy Get together ticket, with the expectation of being rewarded sure favors.
These favors included having a say in appointing ambassadorial posts to the US and Japan, employment within the presidential workplace and nominating proportional representatives to the Nationwide Meeting.
Yoon Jeong-ro, the vp of the Segye Ilbo newspaper, was summoned as a witness to a listening to on Thursday within the trial of Unification Church chief Han Hak-ja, her chief of employees Jeong Received-ju, and Yun Younger-ho, the previous director-general of the church’s world headquarters.
In the course of the listening to, which was presided over by Decide Woo In-seong, particular counsel Min Joung-kie and his staff of prosecutors introduced varied textual content messages despatched by Yoon Jeong-ro as proof.
The texts present that the Unification Church started its efforts to succeed in out to Yoon Suk-yeol in earnest after he gained the PPP’s presidential nomination.
“I’ll attempt to meet Y [a reference to the former president] in mid- or late December,” Yoon Jeong-ro messaged Yun Younger-ho on Nov. 8, 2021.
“The Yoon Suk-yeol [primary] marketing campaign staff’s wrap get together is at the moment. It takes round two weeks on common to get a brand new marketing campaign staff collectively. I’ll preserve my eye on just a few characters that he might take with him to the Blue Home,” he mentioned.
These texts had been despatched three days after Yoon Suk-yeol was named the PPP’s official presidential nominee, demonstrating that the church wasted no time placing into movement their plan to again Yoon and discover who they wished on their staff within the Blue Home.
A couple of weeks later, on Nov. 17, 2021, Yoon Jeong-ro met with lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong and former lawmaker Kim Sung-tae — each key members of Yoon Suk-yeol’s election marketing campaign — within the Yeouido neighborhood of Seoul. The next day, Yoon Jeong-ro texted Yun Younger-ho about arranging a gathering with Kweon.
“A profitable assembly will deliver our probabilities of a gathering with ‘Y’ to 90%,” Yoon Jeong-ro commented in a textual content message on Nov. 19, 2021.
In impact, it was Yoon Jeong-ro who set the stage for Yun Younger-ho’s lobbying of Kweon Seong-dong.
About 20 days later, the calls for from the Unification Church started to develop extra particular. On Dec. 8, 2021, Yoon Jeong-ro despatched the next textual content message to Yun Younger-ho: “All it’s important to do is promise to actively assist Yoon Suk-yeol get elected. When you clarify our standing within the US and Japan, it will be attainable to safe consulships or ambassadorships. Relying on our stage of help, it must also be attainable to ask for nominations for proportional or native seats.”
When the particular counsel staff requested Yoon Jeong-ro if his goal had been to ask Yoon Suk-yeol’s camp for affect over nominating consuls, ambassadors and lawmakers in change for assist in getting elected, he responded, “You possibly can say that. I share my desires with all people I meet.”
Someday after Yun Younger-ho met with Yoon Jeong-ro and Kweon, the lawmaker, on Dec. 29, 2021, Yun despatched Yoon Jeong-ro the next message: “If Kweon accepts the situations I provided, we are going to present (1) votes, (2) floor recreation and (3) funds. Our precise situation is giving our folks roles in his administration to pursue the insurance policies we would like amongst his marketing campaign pledges. We have to have a presence among the many Blue Home aides and within the get together.”
This message reconfirms the calls for the Unification Get together supposed to make after serving to Yoon Suk-yeol develop into president.
When the particular counsel staff requested Yoon Jeong-ro why he’d tried to forge hyperlinks between the political world and the Unification Church, the newspaper vp mentioned, “My job is assembly folks and explaining what we’re about so folks can higher perceive us.”
The conversations between Yoon Jeong-ro and Yun Younger-ho additionally counsel that the Unification Church positioned extra weight on lobbying the conservative Individuals Energy Get together than the center-left Democratic Get together previous to the 2022 election.
On Jan. 11, 2022, Yoon Jeong-ro knowledgeable Yun that he’d reported on reaching out to the opposition get together (then the PPP) whereas visiting the spiritual group’s Cheonjeong Palace on the request of Han’s closest aide, Jeong Received-ju. Yun Younger-ho responded by saying, “Good work. There’s little to be gained from outreach to the ruling get together,” referring to the Democratic Get together.
Neither Yoon Jeong-ro nor Yun Younger-ho authorised of Han Hak-ja assembly with Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of Yoon Suk-yeol.
On Nov. 3, 2021, Yun Younger-ho texted Yoon Jeong-ro to say that he’d “rejected fixed requests from organizational leaders for a gathering between Kim Keon-hee and Mom,” a time period used within the church for Han Hak-ja. Yoon texted again that “Mom ought to be spared the difficulty. After seeing how the election goes, [a meeting] can be attainable throughout a prayer of benediction.”
That was two days earlier than Yoon clinched the PPP’s nomination for president.
By Lee Na-young, employees reporter
Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]
