United States Congressional investigation of the Unification Church
Encyclopedia
The Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations (also known as the Fraser Committee) was a committee of the United States House of Representatives
which met in 1976 and 1977 and conducted an investigation into South Korea–United States relations. It was chaired by Representative Donald M. Fraser
of Minnesota
. The committee's 447 page report, made public on November 29, 1977, reported on plans by the National Intelligence Service (South Korea)
(KCIA) to manipulate American institutions to the advantage of South Korea
n government policies, overtly and covertly.
Among the topics the committee's report covered were South Korean plans to plant an intelligence network in the White House
and to influence the United States Congress
, newsmedia, clergy, and educators. Eighty-one pages (pages 311 to 392) of the report presented the committee's findings on Sun Myung Moon
, the Unification Church
, and what the committee termed "the Moon Organization." The committee found that the KCIA decided to use the Unification Church as a political tool within the United States and that some Unification Church members worked as volunteers in Congressional offices. Together they founded the Korean Cultural Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit organization which acted as a propaganda
campaign for the Republic of Korea. The committee also investigated possible KCIA influence on the Unification Church's campaign in support of Richard Nixon
during the Watergate scandal
.
The report of the committee also found that the KCIA planned to grant money to American universities in order to attempt to influence them for political purposes. It also said that the KCIA had harassed and intimidated South Koreans living in the United States if they protested against Republic of Korea government policies.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
which met in 1976 and 1977 and conducted an investigation into South Korea–United States relations. It was chaired by Representative Donald M. Fraser
Donald M. Fraser
Donald MacKay Fraser is an American politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Early life:Donald Fraser played a critical role in making human rights an important part of U.S. policy. Fraser was born on 20 February 1924 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Everett and Lois Fraser. His parents were émigrés...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The committee's 447 page report, made public on November 29, 1977, reported on plans by the National Intelligence Service (South Korea)
National Intelligence Service (South Korea)
The National Intelligence Service is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korea Central Intelligence Agency , during the rule of President Park Chung-hee's military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, which displaced the...
(KCIA) to manipulate American institutions to the advantage of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n government policies, overtly and covertly.
Among the topics the committee's report covered were South Korean plans to plant an intelligence network in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and to influence the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, newsmedia, clergy, and educators. Eighty-one pages (pages 311 to 392) of the report presented the committee's findings on Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
, the Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
, and what the committee termed "the Moon Organization." The committee found that the KCIA decided to use the Unification Church as a political tool within the United States and that some Unification Church members worked as volunteers in Congressional offices. Together they founded the Korean Cultural Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit organization which acted as a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
campaign for the Republic of Korea. The committee also investigated possible KCIA influence on the Unification Church's campaign in support of Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
during the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
.
The report of the committee also found that the KCIA planned to grant money to American universities in order to attempt to influence them for political purposes. It also said that the KCIA had harassed and intimidated South Koreans living in the United States if they protested against Republic of Korea government policies.
See also
- South Korea – United States relations
- List of United States House committees
- KoreagateKoreagate"Koreagate" was an American political scandal in 1976 involving South Korean political figures seeking influence from 10 Democratic members of Congress. An immediate goal of the scandal seems to have been reversing President Richard Nixon's decision to withdraw troops from South Korea...
- Tongsun Park
- Gifts of DeceitGifts of DeceitGifts of Deceit: Sun Myung Moon, Tongsun Park, and the Korean Scandal is a non-fiction book on Koreagate and the Fraser Committee, a congressional subcommittee which investigated South Korean influence in the United States by the KCIA and the Unification Church, authored by Robert Boettcher, with...
- Unification Church political activitiesUnification Church political activitiesPolitics are an integral part of the Unification Church's concerns and activities, although the church itself largely remains aloof from politics. The degree of involvement of the movement, as well as some of its specific stances, have also been part of the reason for the movement's controversial...
External links
- Excerpt from the report on Steven HassanSteven HassanSteven Alan Hassan is a licensed mental health counselor and an exit counselor. Hassan was an early advocate of exit counseling, and is the author of two books on the subject of "cults", and what he describes as their use of mind control, thought reform, and the psychology of influence in order...
's Freedom of Mind Web site - Excerpt from the report on the Rick Ross InstituteRick Ross (consultant)Rick Alan Ross works as a consultant, lecturer, and intervention specialist, with an interest in exit counseling and deprogramming of former cult members. He runs a blog at CultNews.com, and in 2003 founded the Rick A...
Web sit - Oversight of Foreign Policy: The U. S. House Committee on International Relations, Fred Kaiser, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Aug., 1977), pp. 255-279
- Unification Church Response to Frontline Production of The Resurrection of Reverend Moon, Mose DurstMose DurstMose Durst is an author, educator, and the former national president of the Unification Church of the United States. He was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City; then an Orthodox Jewish community; to immigrants from Russia. He received a Master's degree and Ph.D while studying English...
- Press Conference, Bo Hi PakBo Hi PakBo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
, January 17, 1979