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Unification Church Leader Hak Ja Han Indicted on Bribery, Political Funds and Embezzlement Charges

The indictment advances a special probe into alleged church-to-politics influence during Yoon Suk Yeol’s rise.

Han Hak-ja, the leader of the Unification Church, arrives at the special prosecutors' office for questioning over allegations, which she has denied, that she instructed the church to bribe the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and a politician close to Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Han Hak-ja, the leader of the Unification Church, arrives at the special prosecutors' office for questioning over allegations, which she has denied, that she instructed the church to bribe the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and a politician close to Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Hak Ja Han, bottom center, the leader of South Korea's Unification Church, arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Han Hak-ja, the leader of the Unification Church, arrives at the special prosecutors' office for questioning over allegations, which she has denied, that she instructed the church to bribe the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and a politician close to Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Overview

  • Special prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team charged Han and her former chief secretary with bribery, Political Funds Act violations, embezzlement and instructing the destruction of evidence.
  • Investigators say Han arranged luxury gifts for former first lady Kim Keon Hee on two occasions in July 2022 in a bid to obtain business favors.
  • Prosecutors allege Han directed a church official to deliver 100 million won to lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong in January 2022 and to mobilize the church’s network to aid Yoon’s presidential campaign.
  • Kweon, a close ally of Yoon, has been arrested and indicted on political funding charges and denies receiving money from the church.
  • Han and the Family Federation reject the allegations and decry her arrest, while the special counsel continues broader inquiries linked to Yoon’s presidency.