(ATTN: UPDATES with statement from investigation team in last para)

SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- A joint prosecution-police team investigating suspected collusion between politics and religion allegedly secured a statement four months ago that followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, had been urged to join both the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and the ruling Democratic Party (DP), legal sources said Tuesday.

The team obtained the controversial statement in March during its questioning of former Shincheonji members, according to legal sources. The youth chairperson of the church's Simon branch allegedly asked followers to join both parties ahead of the 2022 local elections by saying: "I am a member of both the PPP and the DP. We must show our strength to politicians."

The Simon branch is responsible for church followers in northwestern Seoul and northern Gyeonggi Province, including Goyang.

Despite securing such a statement, however, the team did not pursue an investigation involving the DP, instead focusing solely on allegations that church members had collectively joined the PPP, legal sources said.

The team did not investigate whether there were church members who joined the DP following encouragement from the youth chairperson or whether there were similar cases in other regions, they added.

Instead, investigators raided only the PPP headquarters between February and March. The church's founder, Lee Man-hee, and other church officials were later indicted on charges of forcing church followers to join the PPP with the aim of influencing the results of the party's presidential primary in 2021 and its candidate nominations for the 2024 general elections.

The team only recently said that it had launched an investigation into allegations that church followers joined the DP last year during the party's candidate nominations for the June 3 local elections.

The team issued a statement, saying it is conducting the investigation in accordance with the law and principles. It added that Shincheonji followers had been systematically instructed to join one party, while it was not confirmed whether they were systematically forced to join the other party.

ycm@yna.co.kr

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