Kim Min-seok says police probe into Shincheonji's party infiltration is advancing

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok said Thursday that the police investigation into allegations of Shincheonji's infiltration of political parties is making progress, adding that findings would be disclosed "at an appropriate time."

Speaking on the party's YouTube channel "Democratic Party TV" that morning, Kim said lawmaker Park Seon-won is handling the matter through a task force, covering allegations related to the infiltration of parties by heretical groups including Shincheonji, dual party membership, and polling irregularities during the party leadership election. "It is proceeding carefully," he said.

Kim said he had already passed on to police all relevant information he possessed, including testimony from one of the most senior figures to have come out of Shincheonji, during the party leadership election period. "We are reviewing the progress of the police investigation and working out what additional lines of inquiry to request," he said.

On the issue of dual party membership, Kim said it must be resolved before any merger discussions with the Rebuilding Korea Party can be concluded. "If the question of a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party arises and a membership vote is envisioned, this is something that must be settled beforehand without exception," he said. "I said from the outset that even if merger talks proceed, a conclusion would only be reached after the dual membership issue is sorted out."

He added that under current law, progress is impossible unless each party releases its membership rolls. "As far as I know, we are reviewing various practical scenarios to work out how to handle this," he said.

On a proposal to lower the threshold for forming a negotiating bloc in the National Assembly from 20 seats to 15, Kim said the idea had long been agreed upon within progressive parties. "Responses have come from the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party and others, and most are positive," he said.

Kim also pushed back against the Rebuilding Korea Party's suggestion that it had not been contacted in advance. "We had already met before that," he said. Kim said he instructed party officials — including floor leader Park Beom-gye, lawmaker Jin Seong-jun who handles Progressive Party relations, and lawmaker Lee Hae-sik who handles Rebuilding Korea Party relations — to make contact on the morning of Wednesday. "Contact was probably made around yesterday," he said.

The Rebuilding Korea Party, however, said it had never agreed to the 15-seat threshold proposal and had not received any direct communication from the Democratic Party on the matter. A senior Rebuilding Korea Party official rebuffed the claim in a phone interview, saying, "Who met whom exactly? That is why trust breaks down. We have not communicated."