The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) has decided not to indict the independent counsel team led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, who had been reported over allegations of conducting biased investigations into politicians receiving valuables and gifts from the Unification Church.

During a briefing held this morning, the CIO stated, "On the 28th of this month, we disposed of the charges against the independent counsel team members as 'not guilty' due to insufficient evidence, following accusations that they failed to take measures such as transferring the case despite securing statements related to the Unification Church's provision of valuables."

The CIO explained, "It was confirmed that the prosecutor in charge from the independent counsel team secured a statement from a former Unification Church headquarters official to the effect that 'valuables and cash were provided to politicians,' drafted a report on it, and that this information was even reported to Special Prosecutor Min." It added, "It was also confirmed that the independent counsel team did not take separate investigative measures."

However, the CIO elaborated on the background of the non-indictment decision, stating, "Even if such statements were true, it was difficult to conclude that the allegations of politicians receiving valuables fell under the scope of investigation specified in the Kim Keon-hee Independent Counsel Act."

The crime of dereliction of duty is established when a public official refuses to perform their duties or abandons them without justifiable cause. The CIO determined that the sequence of processes in which the independent counsel team judged the case to be outside its investigative scope and reviewed plans to transfer it to another investigative agency could not be considered as constituting a crime.

The CIO stated, "We judged that it is difficult to recognize that the suspects intentionally abandoned or neglected their duties to conceal related criminal charges simply based on the circumstance that separate investigative measures were not immediately taken at the time, and no other evidence or circumstances supporting this were confirmed."

An official from the CIO added, "The case in question (concerning the Unification Church valuables) was transferred to the police in December 2025, and investigations have been proceeding since then."

Min Joong-ki's independent counsel team, which investigated allegations surrounding Kim Keon-hee, faced suspicions that while probing allegations of the Unification Church providing valuables and lobbying the political sphere, they did not investigate politicians belonging to the Democratic Party of Korea, focusing instead only on politicians from the People Power Party.

Yun Young-ho, former global headquarters director of the Unification Church, had previously stated to the independent counsel team that between 2018 and 2020, he handed over two luxury watches and tens of millions of won to Jeon Jae-soo, Busan Mayor (former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries) belonging to the Democratic Party, for the purpose of lobbying to resolve denomination pending issues such as the promotion of the Korea-Japan underwater tunnel, and also delivered valuables to former lawmaker Lim Jong-seong of the same party.

The independent counsel team regarded that politicians from the Democratic Party were not subject to investigation, drafted only an investigative report, and assigned an internal investigation case number—the stage prior to formal booking. In response, the People Power Party filed a complaint with the police against the independent counsel team for dereliction of duty, claiming biased investigations.

Having taken over the case from the police, the CIO has continued related investigations by summoning Special Prosecutor Min, former Assistant Special Prosecutor Park Sang-jin, and prosecutors and investigators belonging to the independent counsel team.