Jeong Jeom-sik calls for special prosecutor probe into Shincheonji-Democratic Party allegations

People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik on Monday said a special prosecutor investigation is needed into allegations that Shincheonji Church of Jesus members joined the Democratic Party of Korea en masse.

Jeong posted on his Facebook page that day, demanding a special prosecutor probe into the Shincheonji allegations. "The Democratic Party has been allowing only its lawmakers and regional committee chairs to individually view materials related to the alleged mass Shincheonji membership since Friday," he said.

"Not only Democratic Party lawmakers, but all citizens have the right to know the truth and the right to verify it," Jeong doubled down.

Jeong said he could not trust Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's claim that there was no evidence of a secret alliance between the Democratic Party and Shincheonji. "How can we trust the results of this shoddy, closed-door investigation when our party cannot even view the materials?" he said.

He then raised a more fundamental question: how the party could even determine whether its own members are Shincheonji followers. "Does the Democratic Party have a membership list of Shincheonji followers?" he said.

Jeong said it was only natural that voices within the Democratic Party itself were questioning the origin and credibility of the data. "The Democratic Party must immediately disclose the source of the data on the scale of Shincheonji memberships," he said.

He also said the tips, statements and testimonies the Democratic Party had collected regarding the alleged secret alliance must be verified for authenticity. "We need to determine who gave what orders, when, and how many organized sign-ups took place," he said, citing the need for a compulsory investigation.

Jeong said his party had proposed earlier this year that separate special prosecutors be appointed — one for the Unification Church and one for Shincheonji — rather than a combined probe he described as a diversionary tactic by the Lee Jae Myung administration. "Had our proposal been adopted then, the special prosecutor would have also looked into the allegations of a secret alliance between the Democratic Party and Shincheonji," he said.

Jeong urged that the allegations of a secret alliance between the Democratic Party and Shincheonji be investigated through a special prosecutor with compulsory powers to uncover the truth. "A clean resolution through a special prosecutor investigation would be in the Democratic Party's own interest," he said. "If the Democratic Party refuses a special prosecutor, it is effectively admitting its own collusion with Shincheonji."