Unification Church leader arrested in bribery case involving former
South Korean president's wife
[September 23, 2025]
By KIM TONG-HYUNG
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The 82-year-old leader of the Unification
Church was arrested in South Korea early Tuesday as investigators probe
allegations that the church bribed the wife of jailed former President
Yoon Suk Yeol and a conservative lawmaker.
Hak Ja Han, the widow of the church’s South Korean founder, Sun Myung
Moon, has denied allegations that she directed church officials to bribe
Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, and the lawmaker.
The Seoul Central District Court approved investigators’ request for an
arrest warrant for Han, saying she posed a risk of destroying evidence.
Han did not speak to reporters as she arrived at the Seoul court on
Monday for a hearing on the warrant request. After an hourslong hearing,
the court issued its decision in the early hours of Tuesday as Han
awaited the verdict at a detention center near Seoul, where she will now
be held.
The Unification Church had criticized investigators’ attempt to arrest
Han, noting that she appeared for questioning last week while still
recovering from a heart procedure earlier this month, and accused them
of disrespecting an “internationally respected religious leader.”
Kim was arrested and charged last month on allegations including
bribery, stock manipulation and meddling in the selection of a
legislative candidate.
The lawmaker, Kweon Seong-dong , a staunch Yoon loyalist who was
arrested last week, has denied receiving money from the church.
Investigators also last week visited the headquarters of his
conservative People Power Party to obtain documents for examining claims
that Unification Church members signed up en masse ahead of the party’s
2023 leadership race to boost Kweon’s candidacy.
The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes
launched under Seoul’s new liberal government targeting Yoon’s
presidency. The others focus on Yoon’s planning and execution of his
short-lived martial law imposition on Dec. 3 and his government’s
alleged cover-up of a marine’s drowning death during a 2023 flood rescue
operation.
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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)
Yoon’s martial law lasted only a few hours before the liberal-led
legislature voted to lift it. He was impeached later in December and
formally removed from office in April. He was re-arrested in July
and now faces rebellion and other charges.
Kim has been investigated over various criminal allegations,
stemming from events both before and during her husband’s
presidency. The suspicions include accepting luxury gifts through an
intermediary from a Unification Church official who allegedly sought
various business favors, including the church’s participation in a
Cambodian development project. The official, who has been arrested,
is also suspected of providing 100 million won ($71,800) in bribes
to Kweon.
Han was questioned for nearly 10 hours on Wednesday last week and
denied the allegations against her in brief comments to reporters.
She and her church have insisted that the arrested church official,
Yoon Young-ho, overstepped his authority and acted on his own.
Han is the top leader of the church, officially called the Family
Federation for World Peace and Unification, which her husband
founded in 1954.
A self-proclaimed messiah who preached new interpretations of the
Bible and conservative family values, Moon built the Unification
Church into an international movement with millions of followers and
extensive business interests. The church is widely known for mass
weddings, pairing thousands of couples who often are from different
countries.
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