Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo offered to resign on December 11 amid allegations of receiving bribes from the Unification Church. He denied the claims as 'completely groundless' but stated he would step down to avoid hindering government operations. President Lee Jae Myung plans to accept the resignation.
On December 11, Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo announced his intention to resign at Incheon International Airport upon returning from a U.N. meeting in New York. There, South Korea and Chile were designated as co-hosts for the 2028 U.N. ocean conference. Surrounded by reporters, Chun dismissed allegations of receiving bribes from the Unification Church as a 'completely groundless controversy,' stating, 'As a public official, resigning from the ministerial post and squarely responding will be the right behavior.'
The claims stem from testimony by Yun Young-ho, former head of the church's global headquarters. In August, Yun told a special counsel team that between 2018 and 2020, the church gave Chun—then a Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker—two luxury watches and tens of millions of won in exchange for help with the church's proposed undersea tunnel project connecting South Korea and Japan. Yun's account surfaced recently during his trial, where he accused the special counsel of bias, focusing only on the church's alleged ties to the opposition People Power Party and former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yun faces trial for embezzlement and other charges in a corruption case linked to the Yoon administration.
The special counsel acknowledged Yun's testimony this week but said it fell outside their mandate, transferring the case to police on Tuesday. Chun insisted, 'There was absolutely no illegal acceptance of money or valuables,' and plans to clarify his position during the investigation or at a press conference.
President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June, called on Wednesday for a thorough probe into any politicians' illegal dealings with religious groups. The presidential office confirmed it would process Chun's resignation per procedures, marking the first such exit under Lee's administration.
