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Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo responds to questions from reporters at a press conference held at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in Sejong on Sept. 11, 2025. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is facing an uneasy situation after belated revelations that Yun Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, told special counsel investigators the church had engaged in widespread lobbying efforts involving gifts to politicians in both the opposition People Power Party (PPP) and the Democratic Party.

Contrary to previous reports, Yun’s testimony at a final trial hearing on Monday did not disclose the actual names of the ruling party political figures who allegedly received gifts from the Unification Church. But the Democratic Party continues watching developments closely, with many expecting the fallout to continue.

Democratic Party figures who were reportedly named by Yun as having received “support” from the Unification Church during his questioning by the team of special counsel Min Joung-kie took to various media on Monday to insist the allegations were not factual.

In an interview that day with the YTN network, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Chun Jae-soo responded to allegations that he received two luxury watches and 30 million won in cash, coupled with requests relating to one of the Unification Church’s pet projects — an undersea tunnel effort between South Korea and Japan.

In his response, he stressed that the allegations were a “patent falsehood.”

Chun, who has been visiting New York since Dec. 6 to bid for South Korea to host the UN Ocean Conference, also said the claims that he had given a celebratory address at an event with 600 Unification Church officials in attendance were “baseless.” He also said he would “explain the situation in full” after his return to South Korea on Thursday.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who was also named by news outlets as having received gifts from Yun, said in a meeting with reporters Wednesday that he would “clarify the facts in a position statement on the morning of [Thursday] the 11th.”

Urging people to “trust in my character,” he added, “When I explain it, you may find the details rather uninteresting.”

Another Democratic Party figure who shared a statement on Wednesday was Jeong Jin-sang, the former director of political affairs coordination in the party leader’s office. In a recorded conversation with former Unification Church vice president Lee Hyeon-yeong that was made public in court on Dec. 3, Jeong was mentioned by Yun as a “target of direct contact attempts” around the time of the 2022 presidential election.

National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok said that he “did meet once [with Yun] with an acquaintance at a Sejong Institute research office in early 2022 after a Unification Church official requested a meeting through that acquaintance, saying they had something to discuss regarding North Korea issues.” He added that he had “not had any contact or interaction with him since then.”

Contrary to reports, Yun did not disclose a list of Democratic Party politicians who received gifts from the church in his final trial hearing on Wednesday. For now, many in the Democratic Party are breathing a sigh of relief that there were no major bombshells.

Echoing remarks by President Lee Jae Myung, the party’s senior spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said, “If any Democratic Party figures were illegally connected [with the church], they should simply be punished based on the findings of an investigation.”

Min, the special counsel, also responded to opposition party allegations of “bias” and “cover-ups” over the failure to disclose testimony previously received from Yun about the gifts. In answer, he argued that the area did not fall under the scope of the special counsel probe of former first lady Kim Keon-hee.

A presidential office official said, “If the aim had been to stop a special counsel investigation, they would have blocked the case’s transfer in the first place.”

Behind the scenes, many are adopting a wait-and-see approach amid predictions that more may be to come.

One Democratic Party insider commented, “Already, we’re in a situation where there’s going to be a growing perception among people that ‘the Democratic Party is just the same [as the PPP].’”

“This is a worst-case scenario ahead of next year’s local elections,” they fretted.

A first-term lawmaker from the greater Seoul area warned, “Just because there weren’t any additional revelations from Yun Young-ho, that doesn’t mean the situation is anywhere near over.”

“The party will need to respond preemptively by promptly investigating the figures mentioned, making distinctions between illegal gift-giving and lawful support, and taking stern measures if any issues are discovered,” they advised.

By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter; Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter; Kim Chae-woon, staff reporter; Seo Young-ji, staff reporter

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