South Korea: Doctored Document Cited as Proof

South Korea: Family Federation press release claims 3000-page document submitted to court and extensively quoted by media has been doctored by author

Our Organization’s View on the “TM Special Report” (commonly known as such)

Press release issued by the Family Federation of Japan 16^th January 2026 concerning the “TM (True Mother) Special Report”, a 3,200-page internal Family Federation document now being cited as proof of political corruption involving Japanese lawmakers and others. The Family Federation says the author – Yoon Yeong-ho (윤영호) has made extensive alterations to reports he received from the field. At the end of 2025, the Korean media outlet Hankyoreh was the first to report on the document. See original article in Japanese.

See also Current Korean Situation: Context and Key Issues

See also Lobbying Case: 14 Months for Former Executive

See also Court: Prosecutors’ Overreach in Politicized Case

See also Religion-State: The Danger of Policing Belief

See also Unificationism Emerging as a World Religion

See also Alarm Over State Interference in Religion

In response to weekly magazine reports and the spread on social media of a document referred to as the “TM Special Report,” a situation that cannot be overlooked, our organization has established an investigative committee in order to verify its authenticity and is currently conducting an investigation. The committee has obtained a document highly likely to be the so-called “TM Special Report: 3,200 pages,” and we hereby report the facts that have been confirmed at this stage.

1. Background to the Creation of the “TM Special Report”

Regarding the circumstances of its creation, we present below a report prepared by an individual who worked as a staff member under Yoon Yeong-ho (윤영호) – former World Headquarters Director. According to this report, it is strongly suggested that the “TM Special Report” may contain intentional omissions, alterations, and additions.

Report from Korea [Actual Conditions Concerning the TM Special Report]

(1) Existence of Materials Possibly Omitted Intentionally

Mr. Yoon initially explained to Federation officials that he would submit more than 5,000 pages of materials to the prosecution. However, the materials actually submitted ultimately amounted to approximately 3,000 pages, resulting in a significant discrepancy in volume. It has been pointed out that, behind this discrepancy, there may have been a considerable number of materials and reports that were intentionally excluded by Mr. Yoon himself.

In fact, according to testimony from multiple staff members who directly sent reports to Mr. Yoon at the time, there are confirmed cases in which materials they submitted were not reflected in the final report or do not appear to exist in the records. These points are considered to suggest the possibility that specific materials or reports were intentionally omitted.

(2) Existence of Materials Suspected of Intentional Alteration or Addition

Upon examining the dates in the report, it can be observed that, in the early part of the year, the year notation was not corrected. For example, reports for January 2022 are recorded as January 2021, and reports for January 2023 are recorded as January 2022.

In relation to this, it has been pointed out that the contents of the report may have been added to or modified in order to demonstrate that Mr. Yoon had reported to President Han (한학자) prior to his meeting on 5^th January 2022, with Mr. Kweon Seong-dong (권성동), a prominent Korean politician. The report that is said to have been added bears the date 3^rd January 2022, but in terms of its content, it corresponds to a report dated 3^rd January 2023.

These matters have been, or may in the future be, subject to factual determination in Korean judicial proceedings, and it cannot be denied that there is suspicion that intentional modifications or additions were made at least in a manner favorable to Mr. Yoon. Furthermore, the exact scope and volume of such modifications or additions cannot be ascertained by anyone other than Mr. Yoon himself.

(3) On Field Reports Reviewed and Supplemented by World Headquarters Staff and by Mr. Yoon

Reports submitted from the field were normally translated and then reviewed and supplemented by headquarters staff before being submitted to President Han. Behind this process, it is believed that there was an attitude of trying to present the content in a positive light out of religious consideration, as well as an intention to emphasize the achievements of the reporter – namely, Mr. Yoon.

As a result, numerical figures were sometimes revised upward, and expressions exaggerating the facts were used, and testimony indicates that this had become routine to a certain extent at the time. Furthermore, because additional revisions were made by Mr. Yoon himself at the final submission stage, field leaders were unable to ascertain what differences had arisen between the original reports they submitted and the final reports.

2. Circumstances Surrounding the Leak of the “TM Special Report: 3,200 Pages”

Originally, the “TM Special Report” was seized by prosecutors from Mr. Yoon and had long been reported as consisting of 5,000 pages. On this occasion, what appears to be a portion of it – 3,200 pages – has surfaced. However, it can be inferred for the following two reasons that the intentions of some party have clearly been added to these 3,200 pages.

First, the 5,000-page report was created as reporting memoranda based on reports from field sites around the world, yet only the portions related to the Family Federation in Japan have been compiled. Second, even within those portions, all sections disadvantageous to the author (Mr. Yoon) have been removed.

Accordingly, this 3,200-page document is not the evidence itself seized by prosecutors, but rather a document crafted to strongly reflect Mr. Yoon’s intentions. It is judged that, by spreading these 3,200 pages in the Japanese media, the aim was to introduce into Korea – via Japan – reporting favorable to Mr. Yoon in connection with his own trial currently underway in Korea.

It is considered to be the “TM Special Report: 3,200 Pages,” in which the author’s intentions are extremely strongly reflected.

3. Credibility of the “TM Special Report: 3,200 Pages”

Former Chairman Eiji Tokuno (徳野英治 – second term as Chairman: December 2012 – October 2020) has already explained the following on X:

“It was an extremely private document written with the purpose of encouraging President Hak Ja Han (한학자), imbued with religious hope. Rather than an official document of the Japan Headquarters, it is closer to a personal letter. For that reason, it contains many personal opinions and wishful projections.”

He has thus stated that the document contained many hopeful perspectives reflecting expectations arising from his faith.

The text also strongly conveys a desire to encourage President Hak Ja Han, and there are numerous discrepancies with the facts. Furthermore, because it was a memorandum document prepared by Mr. Yoon for reporting to President Hak Ja Han, the fact is that no one had verified its credibility.

In addition, many contents in the report have in fact been added or rewritten in ways that are contrary to reality.

For example, in Mr. Tokuno’s report, Prime Minister Takaichi’s place of origin is stated as “Nara,” whereas in the TM report it is listed as “Kanagawa.” Moreover, the statement that “(election support) reached as many as 290 people from the Liberal Democratic Party alone” is known to exceed the total number of LDP candidates in the relevant national election at the time. In addition, a report purportedly submitted by the Nara District Head immediately after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (安倍晋三) was never actually submitted by the individual in question, and many contrived passages can be observed.

(Even when compared with the individual’s other reports, the writing style is clearly different, and creative content can be seen. It is stated that Chairman Tomihiro Tanaka (田中富広) ordered the local church to delete the name of suspect Tetsuya Yamagami (山上徹也), but if the person were a member, deletion would have been impossible at the local church level, as deletion procedures can only be carried out at headquarters. Furthermore, the mother’s affiliated church is also incorrect.)

The report also contains numerous descriptions concerning meetings and exchanges between senior officials of our organization and Japanese politicians. However, many of these descriptions lack corroboration through primary sources or objective records. When compared with testimony from those involved and factual circumstances, it cannot be ruled out that some expressions exaggerate beyond the facts, embellish the context, or include content that cannot be confirmed as factual.

Given the nature of these descriptions as internal materials primarily intended to encourage or persuade the report’s recipient, it is appropriate to understand that they do not accurately reproduce actual exchanges, but rather strongly reflect the author’s subjective perceptions, expectations, and evaluations.

Accordingly, our organization judges that the “TM Special Report” is extremely lacking in credibility.

We will continue to conduct further verification as an organization.

See also Current Korean Situation: Context and Key Issues

See also Lobbying Case: 14 Months for Former Executive

See also Alarm Over State Interference in Religion

See also Mother Han Released 10 Days for Medical Reasons

See also Religion-State: The Danger of Policing Belief

See also Court: Prosecutors’ Overreach in Politicized Case

See also Turning Journalism into Moral Storytelling

See also Korea: Distortions Refuted in Statement to Media

See also When Special Prosecutors Become Political Tools

See also Religion Between Engagement and Withdrawal

See also Climate of Suspicion: Peace Reframed as Politics

See also Korea: Can Religion and Politics Be Disentangled?

See also Unificationism Emerging as a World Religion

Featured image above: Investigative committee for the TM Special Report. Illustration: Chat GPT, 27th January 2026.

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See also Mother Han Briefly Released for Medical Reasons

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See also Over 50 Days in Vigil Outside Detention Center

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