Rep. Kweon

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a five-term South Korean lawmaker, is currently involved in a major bribery scandal involving the Unification Church. In January 2026, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kweon to two years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 100 million won ($70,336) for accepting illicit political funds from a senior Unification Church official in January 2022. The court found he accepted the money in exchange for relaying the church’s policy interests to then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. In April 2026, the Seoul High Court upheld this two-year sentence and forfeiture order. Kweon was arrested in September 2025 and indicted in October 2025. He is also under investigation for allegedly leaking information regarding a police probe into church leader Han Hak-ja in exchange for cash between February and March 2022. Regarding prior allegations, Kweon was accused of hiring irregularities involving Kangwon Land. While a former Kangwon Land president was convicted, the Supreme Court acquitted Kweon of related charges in 2022, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove a conspiracy or solicitation beyond a reasonable doubt. Allegations of external pressure on the investigation into this matter were dismissed as groundless in 2018.