Sects and Politics in South Korea

In South Korea, as it comes across, there is a very specific scandal currently unfolding. The case appears to be connected with the Unification Church and its influence on the country’s politics, and this seems to be one of those stories where a fire has broken out of control.

Background

It was relatively recently when the Unification Church became the subject of a scandal in Japan, where the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was committed by a man whose family had suffered from the actions of the sect and its ties with politicians. The investigation revealed that the sect had bribed representatives of various political parties, and as a result, in March 2025, the organisation was banned in Japan by a court ruling (the process continues following an appeal).

It is worth noting here that Protestant sects do indeed possess a certain potential for political influence, and this was demonstrated clearly during the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. Few people remember now that despite her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who was the daughter of a shaman and a sect leader (but not a shaman or a church functionary herself), Park attempted to rein in the activities of such sects and, in particular, to force them to pay more taxes. As a result, the sects joined Park’s opponents, and a considerable number of dirty rumours about the former president, which brought outraged crowds to the streets, were spread through Protestant preachers.

In addition, such large churches, located in Seoul and its environs, are indeed capable of making significant numbers of people take to the streets, and the use of this resource by conservatives is no different from the way Democrats use trade unions or student organisations.

It was exactly why, upon coming to power, Lee Jae Myung started his crackdown policies against Protestant congregations in such an overt fashion that they attracted the attention of Donald Trump, who even used this as a pretext for pressure, but President Lee managed to explain that these were investigative actions.

The Unification........

© New Eastern Outlook