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South Korean Court Sentences Unification Church Leader to Prison
Confirmed
In Short: A South Korean court has sentenced Hak Ja Han, leader of the Unification Church, to two years in prison for bribing officials, including a former first lady, to secure political favors.
A South Korean court has sentenced Hak Ja Han, leader of the Unification Church, to two years in prison for bribing officials, including a former first lady, to secure political favors. The court also added six months to her sentence, citing additional violations of the law governing political donations.
The bribes were funneled through Yoon Young Ho, a senior Unification Church official who is already serving an 18-month prison sentence for his involvement. The court found Han guilty of using these funds to provide US$72,000 in illegal political contributions to a conservative lawmaker to aid in Yoon’s 2022 election campaign.
The judicial panel ruled that Han had embezzled church funds to secure political favors for the church’s global initiatives, including international conferences. The court stated that she aimed to leverage the Unification Church’s financial power to expand its influence during the presidential election.
Yoon, who is serving a life sentence for his brief imposition of martial law in late 2024, was also found guilty of insurrection, though this was not related to the bribery case.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Yoon is serving a life sentence after a court ruled that his brief imposition of martial law in late 2024 constituted an act of insurrection.
- The bribes were funnelled through a senior Unification Church official, Yoon Young Ho, who is already serving an 18-month prison sentence for his involvement in the episode, prosecutors said.
- On Monday, the court added six months to his sentence, citing additional violations of the law governing political donations.
- The court also found Han guilty of using the same official to funnel US$72,000 in illegal political funds to Kweon Seong Dong, a conservative lawmaker, to aid Yoon’s 2022 election campaign.
- However, the judicial panel ruled on Monday that Han had embezzled church funds to secure political favours for the church’s global initiatives, including international conferences. She committed the crime “with…