Overview

• On July 18, Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team raided the Unification Church’s Gapyeong and Seoul headquarters to secure documents and computer files tied to the alleged bribery of former first lady Kim Keon-hee.
• The operation also swept through the residence of church leader Han Hak-ja, the office of shaman Jeon Seong-bae and two offices of Rep. Kweon Seong-dong in the National Assembly and Gangneung.
• Prosecutors are examining claims that Kim received a Graff diamond necklace worth about 60 million won and Chanel bags worth 20 million won from high-ranking church officials between April and August 2022 in exchange for political favors.
• Investigators have expanded the inquiry to cover allegations that Han and other senior church figures spent nearly 58 billion won of church funds on illegal gambling in Las Vegas from 2008 to 2011.
• The special counsel has imposed a travel ban on Han Hak-ja and is pursuing phone forensics and summons for former President Yoon Suk Yeol as the investigation intensifies.