Investigators launch second raid at PPP headquarters over Shincheonji allegations
Published: 03 Mar. 2026, 18:44
![The People Power Party headquarters is seen in Yeouido, western Seoul on March 3. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/03/9cfd3161-39ae-419b-a905-a746ce1833e7.jpg)
The People Power Party headquarters is seen in Yeouido, western Seoul on March 3. [NEWS1]
Investigators on Tuesday raided the headquarters of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) in Yeouido, western Seoul, as part of an investigation into allegations that members of Shincheonji, a religious group, joined the party en masse with the intent to influence internal party votes.
Investigators from a joint prosecution and police task force began the search at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, according to legal sources.
Shincheonji, officially called Shincheonji Church of Jesus, is a Christian-based religious group founded in Korea in 1984 by Lee Man-hee. The group teaches that Lee is a promised pastor who has a unique role in interpreting the Bible and has attracted tens of thousands of followers in Korea and abroad, while also drawing criticism over its recruitment methods and internal practices.
The task force previously searched the same headquarters on Friday for about 11 hours, but failed to secure sufficient data due to PPP's resistance.
“The purpose remains the same as last week’s search,” a task force source said. “We will continue detailed discussions with the PPP.”
Investigators plan to obtain the PPP's membership list and compare it with a list of Shincheonji members. The search warrant that the task force has reportedly stated that Shincheonji may have broken the Political Parties Act, a law that regulates how political parties operate and restricts organized efforts to influence party membership and elections.
The PPP criticized the search.
“Did they resume the search today, knowing lawmakers could not remain at the headquarters because of the rally condemning the three judicial bills?” Choi Soo-jin, chief floor spokesperson for the PPP, said during a phone call with the JoongAng Ilbo. "This is a deliberate and malicious search.”
The PPP began a march in western Seoul at around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday to protest what it calls the “three judicial bills,” referring to legislation led by the Democratic Party, criminalizing the distortion of law, which allows prosecutors to seek criminal punishment against judges or prosecutors accused of intentionally misapplying the law in a case. The other two bills include a bill to allow individuals to file challenges to Supreme Court rulings with the Constitutional Court and a bill to increase the number of Supreme Court justices.
During the previous search, PPP leaders summoned lawmakers to the headquarters and blocked investigators. Rep. Song Eon-seog, floor leader of the PPP, sharply criticized the probe at the time.
![The People Power Party headquarters is seen in Yeouido, western Seoul on March 3. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/03/6932a132-42ce-4544-b37e-d315f87d450b.jpg)
The People Power Party headquarters is seen in Yeouido, western Seoul on March 3. [NEWS1]
“The special counsel and the police, acting on behalf of the administration, are trying to strike at the heart of the opposition,” Song said. “Suppressing and eliminating the opposition — that is dictatorship.”
Shincheonji faces allegations that it instructed members to join the PPP to support then-candidate Yoon Suk Yeol during the party’s 2021 presidential primary.
Investigators previously questioned former Shincheonji executives and secured testimony that the church gave organized instructions in 2023 for members to join the party ahead of the 2024 general election in what was known as “Project Pilates."
On Jan. 30, the task force searched Shincheonji’s headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, as part of the same investigation.
Shincheonji has denied the allegations.
“We have never instructed members to join any political party or engage in political activities,” the church said. “Organized election interference cannot structurally exist within our organization.”
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 JO SU-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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