AnalysisArrest of Unification Church leader reveals potential ties to politics

Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja arrives at Seoul Central District Court for a hearing on her arrest warrant in Seocho District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

The leader of the Unification Church, Han Hak-ja, was placed under detention Tuesday. It was the first instance of a religious figure being taken into custody in connection with a special counsel investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, which began nearly three months ago.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the detention warrant at the request of the independent counsel investigating alleged corruption involving Kim. Two other special counsel teams are conducting parallel inquiries — one into the circumstances of Yoon’s martial law declaration last year and another into the former president’s alleged abuse of authority regarding the death of a young Marine in 2023.

Church leader Han is accused of directing the church’s efforts to influence politics through bribes and other means, in violation of Korea’s constitutional principle of separating religion and state.

Prosecutors suspect she provided luxury goods to the former first lady through an intermediary in 2022 in exchange for favorable treatment of the Unification Church’s operations. She is also alleged to have conspired with a former senior church official to deliver 100 million won ($71,700) to Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the then-ruling People Power Party, a close aide to the former president, while seeking government support for the church.

Prosecutors contend that Han obtained advance information from the lawmaker and subsequently attempted to obstruct a probe into her overseas gambling activities by instructing associates to destroy evidence.

Gambling in a foreign casino is still punishable under Korean law if committed by a Korean citizen, since the Criminal Act extends to offenses committed abroad. However, taking into account scale and frequency, a one-time instance of gambling done for amusement is generally not punishable.

Han is also accused of meddling in the party’s 2023 leadership election. She allegedly orchestrated efforts to enroll church members en masse as party members to help elect Kweon as party leader.

Last week, investigators searched a database management firm affiliated with the party and reportedly confirmed that roughly 110,000 Unification Church members had joined the PPP.

Special counsel investigators, left, speak with a lawyer for the People Power Party, Tuesday, during a raid related to allegations of a mass influx of Unification Church members into the party, Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Born in 1943 in South Pyongan Province, now part of North Korea, Han married Unification Church founder Moon Sun-myung in 1960, despite a 23-year age gap.

Over the decades they lived together, both their family and the church grew rapidly; by the time Moon died in 2012, the couple had 14 children, and the church claimed around 3 million followers in 194 countries.

After Moon’s death, Han consolidated power amid infighting among their children and declared herself the leader of the church, promoting a doctrine that claimed she was the only daughter in God’s direct bloodline.

Korean media reported that during questioning by prosecutors last week, she spent much of the time expounding on the church’s doctrine and reaffirmed her claim of divine lineage.

Reflecting Han’s belief regarding the fusion of religion and politics, her Unification Church has cultivated relationships with influential political parties in Japan and the United States.

Earlier this month, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served during President Donald Trump’s first term, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the legal actions targeting Han in Korea are “deeply troubling.”

Ties between the Unification Church and some members of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party drew controversy after the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, told investigators he acted out of resentment toward the church, saying his mother’s large donations had ruined their family and that he believed Abe was linked to the group. In March, a Japanese court ordered the group’s dissolution over illegal high-value donations following a political uproar, according to media reports.

Prosecutors in Korea believe the church sought to expand its influence at home beginning in late 2021, by looking for a presidential candidate to align with.

According to a Korean media report last week, Han repeatedly insisted during questioning that a candidate who follows her teachings should become president.

At a court hearing Monday, Han highlighted her political ties, saying she had met former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to share her teachings and that Senegal’s president had embraced them.

“I am an interfaith leader and have devoted my life to bringing peace to the world,” she told the court, adding that she once delivered a lecture on divine providence before thousands at the Kremlin in Moscow and even met with North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il-sung.

Han has largely denied the charges.

“I have no interest in Korean politics and know little about it,” she said.