DP leader makes public apology over Shincheonji claim amid backlash from lawmakers

Ruling Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok issued a public apology Friday over allegations he had raised that members of a religious sect had joined the party en masse to influence the party's leadership race.

The renewed apology came after Kim apologized at a closed-door meeting earlier this week, acknowledging that an internal party investigation had found no evidence to support his earlier claim that followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, had colluded with party lawmakers to join the DP to sway the outcome of the Aug. 17 leadership election.

"I once again offer my apologies to party members and to all those who were hurt, as I raised strong concerns over the interference of religion in politics during the last party convention," Kim said during a meeting of the party's supreme council.

Kim vowed to focus on uniting the party and improving people's livelihoods while addressing the issue through the party's internal efforts.

The main opposition People Power Party has called for a joint prosecution-police probe into the case, saying the PPP had faced a thorough investigation over similar allegations involving the mass recruitment of Shincheonji members. The investigation found that around 56,000 church members were forced to join the PPP.

Kim first raised the allegations in July, claiming that lawmakers not aligned with President Lee Jae Myung had secretly colluded with the religious sect, in a remark widely seen as targeting former leader Jung Chung-rae ahead of the leadership election.

Rep. Jung and lawmakers closely aligned with him have criticized Kim's claims as groundless and politically motivated. (Yonhap)