PPP Calls for Special Prosecutor to Investigate Alleged Shincheonji Involvement in Democratic Party
The People Power Party on the 24th demanded that the truth be uncovered through a special prosecutor (a prosecutor assigned to independently investigate a specific case), amid an internal clash among Democratic Party supreme council members over whether to disclose the findings of an investigation into allegations of Shincheonji involvement. Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-hoon criticized the Democratic Party leadership as irresponsible in a statement, noting that they traded heated words in public over the release of the investigation results, and pointed out that hiding the findings in the face of their own suspicions amounted to "hypocrisy." In a separate statement, spokesperson Cho Yong-sul questioned the months of suspicion-raising within the Democratic Party, asking, "What on earth are they so afraid of that they hesitate so much to disclose it?"
The statements came against the backdrop of an internal clash at the Democratic Party's supreme council meeting at the National Assembly on the 23rd. When Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yoon called for the release of the investigation findings, fellow member Park Sun-won responded, "Fine, let's release everything," but explained right after the meeting that there were no plans to announce anything that day. The party later agreed to revisit the matter through mediation by leader Kim Min-seok.
This is not the first time the People Power Party has made such a demand. On July 26, Floor Chief Spokesperson Choi Soo-jin cited reports that a joint prosecution-police investigation team had detected signs of a mass entry of Shincheonji members into the Democratic Party and was investigating, calling for the introduction of an opposition-recommended special prosecutor.
The Democratic Party leadership had set a tone of cautious handling of the Shincheonji allegations at a supreme council meeting on October 14. Rep. Jung Chung-rae urged on Facebook on the 23rd that the investigation findings be disclosed as they were, saying that the supreme council had never decided against disclosure.
