Court set to hold arrest warrant hearing for Unification Church leader

Han Hak-ja, center, leader of the Unification Church, appears at the office of special counsel Min Joong-ki's team in Seoul, Sept. 17, to be questioned by the team in connection with the alleged delivery of luxury gifts to former first lady Kim Keon Hee in exchange for favors. Yonhap

A Seoul court is set to hold a hearing Monday to determine whether to issue a warrant to arrest Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja over charges of bribery linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The hearing will be held at the Seoul Central District Court at 1:30 p.m. after special counsel Min Joong-ki's team sought the warrant last week on charges of violations of the Political Funds Act and the anti-graft law, subornation of evidence destruction and embezzlement.

Han is accused of colluding with a former church official surnamed Yun to hand 100 million won ($72,400) to People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kweon Seong-dong in 2022 in exchange for his help in gaining favors for the church in the event of Yoon Suk Yeol's election as president later that year. Yoon went on to win the election.

Han is also suspected of involvement in gifting a luxury necklace and Chanel bags to Yoon's wife, Kim, while requesting favors, embezzling the church's money to purchase the gifts and ordering the destruction of evidence to Yun ahead of a police investigation into her alleged overseas gambling.

The warrant does not list allegations that the Church had thousands of its followers sign up as members of the PPP to back Kweon's bid as party leader in 2023.

The special counsel team has cited the need to determine the exact dates the members signed up and whether they had voting rights.

A separate arrest warrant hearing for Han's former chief of staff, surnamed Jeong, will be held at the same court at 4 p.m. She is listed as an accomplice in most of the crimes Han is accused of.

The church has denied Han's involvement in the alleged offenses, saying they were carried out by the former church official alone.

Though she voluntarily appeared for questioning Wednesday, Han snubbed three earlier summonses by the special counsel team, citing health issues following a heart procedure.

The team said her appearance was likely prompted by Kweon's arrest earlier that day on charges of receiving the 100 million won.