The People Power Party on Saturday called on the Democratic Party of Korea to seek a special prosecutor investigation after allegations emerged that the Unification Church had interfered in the Democratic Party's internal affairs — the latest in a series of religious-organization controversies to hit the opposition.
PPP spokesperson Jo Yong-sul said in a statement that Democratic Party Senior Supreme Council Member Choi Min-hee had claimed at a closed-door party membership meeting that she had received a tip alleging the Unification Church had backed Kim Min-seok for the party leadership. "Reports and disclosures that have come from within the party cannot simply be brushed aside," Jo said.
Jo went on to say the Democratic Party should not even think about quietly burying the matter as an internal power struggle.
Jo said the Democratic Party had previously leveled allegations of collusion with religious organizations against the PPP, going so far as to call for the party's dissolution. "We even suffered the humiliation of having our membership rolls subjected to search and seizure and enduring various investigations amid baseless political attacks," the spokesperson said.
"It is deeply tiresome to see the Democratic Party apply strict standards to others while responding to disclosures within its own ranks with silence and leniency — the very definition of hypocrisy," Jo said, adding that if the Democratic Party had even a minimum of conscience, it should demand a special prosecutor investigation of itself and pursue a thorough inquiry, just as it had demanded of others.
sjpark@heraldcorp.com
