Prosecutors raid South Korea’s main opposition party amid probe into election fraud

ANKARA

South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday raided the main opposition party headquarters amid a probe into election fraud.

A special counsel team raided the headquarters of the People Power Party as part of a widening probe into bribery and election interference allegations linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee and the Unification Church, Yonhap News reported.

The Unification Church was founded by a staunch anti-communist group in South Korea in 1954 and is often labeled as a cult.

Led by special counsel Min Joong-ki, investigators executed a search and seizure warrant at the party's western Seoul office.

Kim, the wife of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was arrested on Tuesday after a local court issued an arrest warrant on an array of charges, including election meddling and bribery, while she denies all charges.

Prosecutors have been investigating allegations that Jeon Seong-bae -- a shaman associated with Kim -- and a key Unification Church official surnamed Yoon sought to recruit church members into the party to sway its 2023 leadership race in favor of Rep. Kweon Seong-dong.

They reportedly exchanged text messages referencing then-President Yoon’s backing for Kweon.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid.