Unification Church leader jailed for two years over bribery offences

Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church, has been sentenced to two years in prison for bribing South Korea’s former first lady and other political funding offences.

A court found that Han Hak-ja’s church gave Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace, together worth 80 million won ($57,900; £42,500). A special counsel team appointed to the case said Kim received the luxury products from the church between April and July 2022, in exchange for business and political favours.

A special counsel team appointed to the case said Kim received the luxury products from the church between April and July 2022, in exchange for business and political favours. The prosecutors said the probe was the first time the authorities have confirmed the church’s attempt at buying influence in politics, and released photos of $19m (£14m) worth of cash found in Han’s personal safe.

Earlier this year, Kim was sentenced to 20 months in jail for accepting bribes from the church. Han, the 83-year-old widow of the Unification Church’s founder Sun Myung Moon, had repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them “false”.

The Unification Church, known formally as The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, was founded in South Korea in the 1950s by Sun Myung Moon, who proclaimed himself the messiah. It is probably best known for the mass weddings where thousands of couples were married by Han and her late husband and founder Sun Myung Moon in a stadium. Critics have described the group as “cult-like”, and lawyers have accused it of coercing devotees, known colloquially as “Moonies” after its founder, to donate large sums of money.