Korean court convicts Unification Church leader in political influence-buying scheme

A Korean court has found that Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja had the final say in systematic lobbying efforts in which the religious group offered money and gifts to former first lady Kim Keon-hee and several People Power Party lawmakers in exchange for help with pending issues.

While the two-year prison sentence for Han was far shorter than the 13-year term sought by the special counsel team that indicted her, the court’s ruling nonetheless acknowledged the reality of church-wide lobbying and collusion between religion and state, as Han was found guilty on most of the major charges.

In a ruling on Monday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Han to one year in prison for violating the Political Funds Act and another year for violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and embezzlement.

Jeong Won-ju (also known as Won-ju McDevitt), Han’s second-in-command, was also sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Yun Young-ho, the former director-general of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, was sentenced to six months in prison.

The court found that the religious group did provide gifts worth 80 million won (US$58,250), including a Chanel handbag, to the wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol between April and July 2022, immediately following his election as president.

“Yun presented the Chanel bag and other items to Kim [Keon-hee] during a morning assembly with Han’s approval. We can acknowledge that these gifts were given to request favors related to the Unification Church’s projects,” the court found.

The court also found that Yun gave former PPP lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong 100 million won in political funds on Jan. 5, 2022, with Han’s approval.

“Yun informed Han that he was to have lunch with Kweon, after which Han asked Jeong to bring 100 million won and hand it to Yun,” the court said.

Han was charged with violating the anti-graft law by funneling 144 million won to PPP lawmakers and others through various contributions between March and April 2022. The court deemed that around 100 million won of the bribes was provided with Han’s approval.

Han was also found guilty of embezzling church funds used to purchase gifts for Kim, such as the notorious Chanel handbag along with other items.

However, the court acquitted Han of embezzlement charges linked to donations to the PPP, stating that it was difficult to prove intent of unlawful appropriation.

The court dismissed charges regarding Han’s alleged orders to destroy evidence related to suspicions of her overseas gambling trips, ruling that the charges fell outside the special counsel’s investigation mandate.

The Unification Church released a statement the same day, stating that it planned to immediately file an appeal “to correct the errors in factual findings and legal judgments.”

Meanwhile, the joint prosecution-police team investigating the violations of the separation of church and state indicted Han and others on charges of embezzling 10.5 billion won in church funds.

After determining that the 26 billion won stored in Han’s personal safe was linked to the embezzlement, the team seized the cash to secure the recovery of the funds.

By Lee Na-young, staff reporter

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