In brief
The 83‑year‑old widow of the Unification Church founder has been sentenced to two years in Seoul’s Central District Court for providing Chanel bags and a diamond necklace to former first lady Kim Keon‑Hee as part of a bribery scheme. The case revealed, for the first time, that the church sought to buy political influence, with a personal safe in Han’s apartment containing roughly $19 million in cash. Kim had previously been jailed for 20 months in a separate bribery trial and has issued a public apology. The ruling adds fresh scrutiny to the church’s extensive linkages in Korean, Japanese and U.S. political circles, and to its reputation as a cult‑like organisation.
Han Hak‑ja, the 83‑year‑old widow of Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, has been fined a two‑year prison term after a Seoul court ruled that her organisation bribed former South Korean first lady Kim Keon‑Hee with luxury gifts.
The investigation found that between April and July 2022 the church supplied Kim two Chanel handbags and a diamond necklace worth 80 million won (about $58 thousand). In return the former first lady accepted government‑related benefits and favorable business deals, the court said.
Kim herself had already spent 20 months behind bars after a separate conviction for accepting bribes in 2024, and had publicly apologized following her indictment.
For the first time prosecutors verified that the Unification Church—often referred to by critics as a cult—had tried to purchase political influence. A report released by the special counsel team revealed a personal safe in Han’s apartment containing roughly $19 million in cash.
Despite repeated denials, the church was found to have dispatched financial and in‑kind gifts to senior officials, sparking new inquiries into its ties with Korean, Japanese and U.S. politicians.
The Unification Church, officially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, remains controversial worldwide. It has faced bans in Singapore and was ordered to dissolve in Japan after being linked to the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In Seoul, the monarchic‑style mass wedding ceremonies and far‑reaching political connections have been at the centre of repeated civil‑societal scrutiny, prompting crisis‑management measures by the Republic’s government.
