Special Counsel Raids Korean Police Offices Over Alleged Cover-up of Unification Church Gambling Investigation

SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- The second comprehensive special counsel team raided the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) and two other police offices Monday over an alleged mishandling of the initial police investigation into suspected overseas gambling by Unification Church officials. Prosecutors and investigators from special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team searched the KNPA in western Seoul, along with the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency and the Chuncheon Police Station, both in Chuncheon, 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in the morning to secure materials related to the police's intelligence and internal investigation into church officials' alleged gambling. The allegations are centered on the claim that the police became aware of suspicions of illicit overseas gambling by Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja and other officials but suspended their investigation after the information was leaked to political circles. In June 2022, the Chuncheon Police Station allegedly obtained information that Han and other church officials spent 60 billion won (US$40.7 million) on gambling in Las Vegas between 2008 and 2011. However, suspicions arose that the investigation was suppressed after the intelligence was leaked to political circles due to the intervention of People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong. Kwon's team was launched in February to investigate 17 allegations that three previous special counsel teams could not resolve. One of the previous special counsel teams indicted Han and Kweon in the case but did not complete its investigation into individual police officials, including those suspected of leaking information on their investigation, and the possible involvement of other politicians.