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Busan mayoral election rocked by frontrunners' ties to Unification Church

Published: 16 Dec. 2025, 19:23

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon delivers welcoming remarks at a National Assembly relay seminar at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 19. [NEWS1]

The Busan mayoral election, now less than six months away, is being rocked by footage from the past showing the two frontrunners' ties to the scandal-ridden Unification Church.

Photos and videos showing former Oceans and Fisheries Minister Chun Jae-soo of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and incumbent Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) attending events or appearing alongside individuals associated with the Unification Church have surfaced one after another, putting both camps on the defensive. The mayoral election is set for June 3.

Latest evidence revealed Tuesday that Busan Mayor Park had sent congratulatory video messages to Unification Church–related events at least five times. The news came just one day after police raided 10 locations linked to the Unification Church's alleged political bribery case.

In September 2021, Park delivered a video message to the “Think Tank 2022” event hosted by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), saying that “the incomplete peace on the Korean Peninsula is a task that must be resolved for the future of the global community.” The UPF was founded in 2005 by the late Moon Sun-myung, founder of the Unification Church, to promote the resolution of global conflicts. In February the following year, Park also sent a congratulatory video to the “World Summit 2022” organized by the same group.

Park sent at least four additional congratulatory messages to the organization in August 2022 and again in 2023, 2024 and 2025, according to findings by the JoongAng Ilbo.

As allegations of Park's links to the Unification Church gained traction, the Busan metropolitan government pushed back, calling them a “political smear campaign.” A close aide to Park said the messages were limited to routine expressions of appreciation or congratulations for events and that “it is customary to send such messages as long as the organization is not illegal.” The aide added that the matter is “completely unrelated to allegations of illicit donations involving the Unification Church.”

Indeed, Park was not the only official to have sent congratulatory remarks to the events. Others included South Jeolla Gov. Kim Young-rok, former Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop, former North Jeolla Gov. Song Ha-jin, former South Chungcheong Gov. Yang Seung-jo, former North Chungcheong Gov. Lee Si-jong and North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo.

Liberal Democratic Party Rep. Chun Jae-soo meets with figures from the Unification Church-affiliated Citizens’ Federation for National Unification (translated) on March 23, 2020, ahead of the 21st general election. Chun holds a copy of Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja’s autobiography, right. [JOONGANG ILBO, SCREEN CAPTURE]

The DP, however, moved to intensify pressure on Park. Lee Jae-sung, former head of the party’s Busan chapter, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that the events Park addressed were held “in a context honoring the founder of the Unification Church,” adding that “it is hard not to question whether such actions are appropriate for a sitting mayor.”

“If the Unification Church engaged in lobbying, a sitting mayor like Park would have been a top target,” said a first-term DP lawmaker. "Suspicions surrounding Park’s ties to the church will likely continue."

Both parties appear uneasy as the controversy engulfs Chun and Park, who rank first and second in opinion polls for the next Busan mayoral race. "Chun's case is already under official investigations, which means that it will be difficult for him to run [for the mayoral election]," said a PPP lawmaker. "But if the allegations spill over to Mayor Park, then next year's elections will be nothing but total chaos."

Still, the PPP has expressed some relief that Park has not been accused of receiving money or valuables. Chun, by contrast, has taken a major hit from allegations that he received 20 million won ($13,600) in cash and a luxury watch worth more than 10 million won from the Unification Church in 2018.

The scandal intensified after photos surfaced in March 2020 — ahead of the 21st general election — showing Chun posing with a Unification Church figure while holding the autobiography of church leader Han Hak-ja.

Then-lawmaker Chun Jae-soo poses for a commemorative photo at the IAPP 2018 conference, co-hosted by former lawmaker Lim Jong-seong and the Unification Church, in February 2018. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Unification Church's surprising link to Busan likely stems from what politicians point to as the long-discussed Korea–Japan undersea tunnel project. The tunnel, which dates back to church founder Moon's 1981 proposal for an "international peace highway," would link Karatsu in Japan’s Saga Prefecture to Busan.

"Unification Church personnel seem to have approached politicians through various means ever since the tunnel became the church's longstanding goal," said a local political figure.

Former mayors have not been entirely free from the controversy, either. Former Busan Mayor Seo Byung-soo of the PPP included construction of the undersea tunnel as a key campaign pledge in 2016, and the city commissioned a feasibility study the following year.

Oh Keo-don, a former DP-affiliated mayor, attended a Unification Church event in 2019 and signed a handwritten pledge to pursue the project. During the 2021 Busan mayoral by-election, then–PPP interim leader Kim Jong-in also publicly pledged to actively review the tunnel's construction.

Signs of a broader political mudslinging campaign are also emerging. PPP Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo posted photos on Facebook on Tuesday showing Chong Won-o, the mayor of Seongdong District in Seoul and a potential DP mayoral contender, attending a Unification Church event in June 2017.

Trade containers are stacked at Busan Port on Dec. 1. [YONHAP]

Ahn claimed Chong delivered remarks saying, “Unification can only be achieved through true love,” and signed a “Declaration of Unification,” questioning whether the phrase “true love” signaled support for Unification Church doctrine.

Chong responded in a statement, saying the event was an open gathering held in his district and that his remarks were merely "customary greetings and words of encouragement."

"I never received any support from the Unification Church," Chong said.

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 KIM GYU-TAE [[email protected]]