{
  "id": 4558184,
  "title": "Prosecution-police team wraps up probe into political-religious collusion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/prosecution-police-team-wraps-up-probe-into-political-religious-4558184",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T03:22:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20260831/prosecution-police-team-wraps-up-probe-into-political-religious-collusion"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A joint prosecution-police team concluded its investigation into alleged collusion between politics and religion on Monday, 237 days after its launch. The team successfully arrested and indicted Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and seized 26 billion won ($18.9 million) in cash from Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja's private safe. The investigation focused on claims that Shincheonji had pressured its members into joining the People Power Party (PPP) for political influence, tax evasion, embezzlement of funds, and illegal donations by the Unification Church. Four Shincheonji officials, including Lee, were arrested and indicted, while 12 others were indicted without detention. Lee and other church leaders were accused of coercing followers to join the PPP from 2021 to 2024, resulting in 56,472 new PPP members during this period.",
  "summary": "A joint prosecution-police team investigating suspected collusion between politics and religion concluded its activities Monday, 237 days after its launch on Jan. 6. The team achieved notable results, including the arrest and indictment of Lee Man-hee, founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, and the seizure of 26 billion won ($18.9 million) in cash from the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Prosecution-police team wraps up probe into political-religious collusion",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/prosecution-police-team-wraps-up-probe-into-political-religious",
        "published": "2026-08-31T02:16:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Prosecution-police team wraps up probe into political-religious collusion",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/prosecution-police-team-wraps-up-probe-into-political-religious-4556801",
        "published": "2026-08-31T03:17:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}