Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Kim Min-seok issued a public apology Friday over allegations he had raised that members of a religious sect had joined the party en masse to influence the party's leadership race. The renewed apology came after Kim apologized at a closed-door meeting earlier this week, acknowledging that an internal party investigation had found no evidence to support his earlier claim that followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, had colluded with party lawmakers to join the DPK to sway the outcome of the Aug. 17 leadership election. "I once again offer my apologies to party members and to all those who were hurt, as I raised strong concerns over the interference of religion in politics during the last party convention," Kim said during a meeting of the party's supreme council. Kim vowed to focus on uniting the party and improving people's livelihoods while addressing the issue through the party's internal efforts. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has called for a joint prosecution-police probe into the case,