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The Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations (also known as the Fraser Committee) was a committee of the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
which met in 1976 and 1977 and conducted an investigation into the "
Koreagate "Koreagate" was an American political scandal in 1976 involving South Korean political figures seeking influence from 10 Democratic members of Congress. The scandal involved the uncovering of evidence that the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (K ...
" scandal. It was chaired by Representative
Donald M. Fraser Donald MacKay Fraser (February 20, 1924 – June 2, 2019) was an American politician from Minnesota who served as U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district from 1963 to 1979 and as mayor of Minneapolis from 1980 to 1994. Ea ...
of
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. The committee's 447-page report, made public on November 29, 1977, reported on plans by the
National Intelligence Service (South Korea) The National Intelligence Service (NIS; ) is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA; ), during the rule of general Park Chung Hee's military Sup ...
(KCIA) to manipulate American institutions to the advantage of
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
n government policies, overtly and covertly.


Hearings

The committee conducted an extensive investigation into
South Korea–United States relations Diplomatic Relations, Diplomatic relations between South Korea and the United States commenced in 1949. The United States helped establish the modern state of South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, and fought on its United Nations, UN-spo ...
, and held a series of hearings. The committee's hearings were highly publicized, and the term "Koreagate" began to be used by American news media outlets at the time. During these hearings, former KCIA director
Kim Hyong-uk Kim Hyong-uk (, January 16, 1925 – ) was a South Korean brigadier general who served as director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency from 1963 to 1969. Early life Born in Hwanghae province, he left for the South after high school ...
testified that he had offered favors to Pak Tong-sun in exchange for the latter's efforts to lobby in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Kim also testified that a month before the hearings, South Korean president
Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...
had attempted to dissuade him from testifying, and had ordered his kidnapping or assassination if he proceeded to testify. Various members of the
Unification Church of the United States The Unification Church of the United States is the branch of the Unification Church in the United States. It began in the late 1950s and early 1960s when missionaries from South Korea were sent to America by the international Unification Church' ...
testified that churchmembers had been involved in attempts to lobby congress. Dan Fefferman, a leader in the
Unification Church of the United States The Unification Church of the United States is the branch of the Unification Church in the United States. It began in the late 1950s and early 1960s when missionaries from South Korea were sent to America by the international Unification Church' ...
, refused to cooperate fully during the hearings.


Fraser Report

The committee made its findings public in what became known as the "Fraser report". The committee's report that there were South Korean plans to plant an intelligence network in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
and to influence the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
, newsmedia, clergy, and educators. The report found that Korean businessman
Tongsun Park Tongsun Park (; March 16, 1935 – September 19, 2024) was a South Korean lobbyist. He was involved in two political money-related scandals: Koreagate scandal in the 1970s, and the Oil-for-Food Program scandal of the 2000s. Park had a reputati ...
had begun lobbying for in 1970, immediately after Nixon withdrew the
U.S. Seventh Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fra ...
division from South Korea. The committee found that the KCIA was working with
Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Moon Yong-myeong; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the ...
, founder of the
Unification Church of the United States The Unification Church of the United States is the branch of the Unification Church in the United States. It began in the late 1950s and early 1960s when missionaries from South Korea were sent to America by the international Unification Church' ...
, and that some church members worked as volunteers in congressional offices. Together they founded the Korean Culture and Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit organization which undertook a
public diplomacy In international relations, public diplomacy broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence with the aim of bui ...
campaign for the
Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. The committee also investigated possible KCIA influence on the
Unification movement The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
's campaign in support of
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
during the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
. 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 Korean people living in the United States if they protested against Republic of Korea government policies.


Aftermath

In response to the investigation, the
House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct The U.S. House Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Before the 112th Congress, it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Th ...
filed and heard charges against members of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
. Congressman
Richard T. Hanna Richard Thomas Hanna (June 9, 1914 – June 9, 2001) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as a U.S. Representative from California from 1963 to 1974. He became involved in a scandal dubbed Koreagate by accepting bribes fro ...
was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Government, and was sentenced to serve between 6 and 30 months in prison. The ethics committee censured
Edward R. Roybal Edward Ross Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was a Mexican-American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first Latino American to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council, serving from 1949 to 1962. He la ...
for failing to report that he had received a $1,000 gift from Park. Two other congressmen,
Charles H. Wilson Charles Herbert Wilson (February 15, 1917 – July 21, 1984) was a 20th-century American banker, businessman and California Democratic politician from the Los Angeles area. For nine terms he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives fro ...
and
John J. McFall John Joseph McFall (February 20, 1918 – March 7, 2006) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the state of California, rising to the position of House Majority Whip. Early life and career McFall was ...
were reprimanded. A fourth congressman,
Edward J. Patten Edward James Patten (August 22, 1905 – September 17, 1994) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who represented the now-redistricted New Jersey's 15th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for eigh ...
, was found not guilty. The committee investigated claims that
Edward Derwinski Edward Joseph Derwinski (September 15, 1926 – January 15, 2012) was an American politician who served as the first Cabinet-level United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving under President George H. W. Bush from March 15, 1989 to Septem ...
had leaked confidential information to South Korean officials, but the inquiry ended inconclusively. Kim Hyong-uk disappeared in October 1979, and was reportedly assassinated on the orders of
Kim Jae-kyu Kim Jae-gyu (, April 9, 1924 – May 24, 1980) was a South Korean politician, Republic of Korea Army, army lieutenant general and the director of the National Intelligence Service (South Korea), Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He Assas ...
, then-director of the KCIA.


See also

* South Korea – United States relations *
List of United States House committees There are two main types of congressional committees in the United States House of Representatives, standing committees and select committees. Committee chairs are selected by whichever party is in the majority, and the minority party selects ...
*
Gifts of Deceit A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...
*
Unification Church political activities The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
*
Unification Church and North Korea The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
*
Unification Church of the United States The Unification Church of the United States is the branch of the Unification Church in the United States. It began in the late 1950s and early 1960s when missionaries from South Korea were sent to America by the international Unification Church' ...


References


External links


Full report
on the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

''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

Mose Durst Mose Durst (born September 5, 1939) is an American author, educator, and the former president of the Unification Church of the United States. Durst was born in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, to immigrant parents from R ...
* ttp://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Books/Tims1/Tims1-06.htm Press Conference
Bo Hi Pak Bo Hi Pak (August 18, 1930 – January 12, 2019 in Korea. Korean: 박보희/朴普熙) was a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the church movement, leading projects such as newspaper ...
, January 17, 1979 {{Unification Church South Korea–United States relations United States House of Representatives Unification Church controversies