SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung accepted the resignation of the Oceans Minister on Thursday after Chun Jae-soo said he was stepping down to focus on disproving claims he received illegal payments from the Unification Church.
Chun called the claims “completely false” and said he had offered to resign to avoid hurting the work of his ministry and Lee’s government.
Local media in recent days have quoted unidentified sources as saying that a former Unification Church official told prosecutors about payments to members of parliament from Lee’s Democratic Party including Chun. The reports did not say how much money Chun was alleged to have received.
Chun said this week that he would use all legal means to hold accountable “false reports and malicious distortions.”
Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja is on trial on charges that she bribed former first lady Kim Keon Hee in return for business favors. Han has denied the allegations.
Chun said it was the “right thing to do” to step down to focus on addressing the allegations, which he said were “absurd” and “absolutely groundless.”
Lee had accepted Chun’s resignation, Lee’s office said on Thursday afternoon.
Lee has called for tough investigations into suspected improper links between religious groups and politicians regardless of party affiliation, without naming specific religious entities.
Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is also on trial on corruption charges.
South Korea minister resigns amid allegations of Unification Church payments
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South Korea minister resigns amid allegations of Unification Church payments
- Chun Jae-soo called the claims ‘completely false’ and said he had offered to resign to avoid hurting the work of his ministry and President Lee Jae Myung’s government
UN chief calls Ukraine war ‘a stain on our collective conscience’
- Guterres warned that the fighting posed direct risks to the safe and secure operation of Ukraine’s nuclear sites
WASHINGTON: Four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the war there remained “as a stain on our collective conscience” and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire. In remarks for a session of the United Nations Security Council to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Guterres commended the efforts of the United States and others to end the war, but said concrete measures were needed to de-escalate and create space for diplomacy.
Referring to Russia’s invasion, Guterres said: “We have witnessed the cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law.”
He said more than 15,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war and over 41,000 hurt. Among those killed or hurt were 3,200 children.
Guterres’ remarks were read on his behalf by Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN under-secretary-general for peacebuilding.
Guterres warned that the fighting posed direct risks to the safe and secure operation of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, and added: “This unconscionable game of nuclear roulette must cease immediately.”
He urged UN member states to fully fund humanitarian assistance and said that any settlement to the war must uphold the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
“Enough with the death. Enough with the destruction. Enough with the broken lives and shattered futures,” he added.
“It is time for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire – the first step toward a just peace that saves lives and ends the endless suffering.
