Unification Church Leader Indicted in South Korea Amidst Political Scandal
SEOUL – Hak โJaโฃ Han, the 82-year-old leader of the Unification Church, โwas formally indicted Friday byโข South Korean investigators on charges stemming from alleged bribery and political funding violations.โ The โindictmentโข centersโข around accusations that han directed church officials to โขoffer bribesโ to Kim Keon Hee, theโข wife of โformer president Yoon โSuk Yeol, and conservative lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong.
Han,widow of the church’s founder Sunโฃ Myung moon,has denied the allegations. โThe โUnification Church has also condemned her arrest last month, characterizing it as disrespectful to a prominent โคreligious figure.
The investigation focuses onโ the allegedโ connections between the Unification Church and Kim Keonโฃ Hee, who was arrested and charged in August with bribery and related offenses. This โconnection hasโข become a key โelement in ongoing specialโค investigations into the conduct of Yoon’s presidency.
According to investigators, led by โคspecialโ prosecutor Min Joong-ki, Hanโค and her former chief secretary are accused of bribery, violations of politicalโ funding โฃlaws, embezzlementโข of church funds, and instructing the destruction of evidence. Specifically, they are alleged toโค have conspired with another church official to provide luxuryโค goods โto Kim Keon Hee on two occasions inโ July 2022, purportedly in exchange for favorable business treatment.
furthermore, han is suspected ofโข directing the church officialโ to deliver 100 millionโข won (approximately $70,000 USD) to Kweon Seong-dong in Januaryโ 2022, prior toโ Yoon’s election in March of that year. Investigators claim theโค church โsought to support Yoon’s presidential campaign by mobilizing its followers and organizational network, โขwith the expectation of future government support for the church’s โคpolicies and events.
Kweon Seong-dong, a known โคsupporter of Yoon who was arrested in August and indicted this week for violating โขpolitical funding laws, has denied receiving funds from the church.
The โcase unfolds against a backdrop of โคpolitical turmoil. Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from officeโ in April following a brief imposition of martial law in December,which led to his impeachment. He was re-arrested in July and now faces charges of rebellion andโค other offenses.
Current โPresident Lee Jae Myung has authorized two additional special prosecutor probes into Yoon, oneโค focusing on theโค implementation of the martial law decreeโ and another investigating allegations of aโ cover-up related to the death โof a marine during a 2023 flood rescue operation.
Han โleads the โขUnification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, founded in 1954 by her husband, Sun Myungโค Moon. Moon,โค who proclaimed himself a messiah, builtโฃ the church into a global movement known for its mass โคwedding ceremonies, frequently enough unitingโ couples from diverse national backgrounds, and its extensive business holdings.
