Overview
- Seoul prosecutors charged Song Gwang-seok, former head of the Universal Peace Foundation, alleging he delivered 13 million won to 11 lawmakers in 2019.
- Investigators say the political contributions were organized across both major parties and may have been reimbursed by the church through its officials.
- Prosecutors asked police to conduct further inquiries into church leader Han Hak-ja and two other officials, while Han remains jailed on a separate bribery case tied to former first lady Kim Keon Hee.
- Police searched the home of Jeong Won-ju, a former chief secretary to Han, and the office of the special prosecutor in Seoul, seizing materials related to alleged bribes to ex-lawmaker Jeon Jae-su.
- Authorities are reviewing evidence on claims Jeon received 20 million won in cash and a luxury watch in 2018, and they questioned a former Universal Peace Federation chair as a witness in lobbying related to the Korea-Japan undersea tunnel project.