The special counsel team investigating former first lady Kim Keon-hee has asked the People Power Party(PPP) to cooperate in verifying whether Unification Church members joined the party.

Investigators presented a search warrant at the PPP secretary-general’s office in the National Assembly on Monday, seeking to compare the church’s membership list with the party’s rolls.

This follows a previous attempt on Wednesday last week at the PPP headquarters, which was blocked by party officials.

The investigation focuses on allegations that Unification Church figures sought to enlist members en masse to influence the PPP leadership election in March 2023, allegedly in support of lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, as well as last year’s general election.

The special counsel says it needs to review party membership records from December 2021 to April 2023 and has already secured a list of one million Unification Church members in a raid last month.