Han Hak-ja, the 83-year-old leader of the Unification Church, has been sentenced to two years in prison after a court found the organization guilty of bribing South Korea's former first lady, Kim Keon Hee.
The court determined that the church provided Kim with two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace—valued at approximately $57,900—in exchange for political and business favors between April and July 2022. Kim, the wife of ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, was previously sentenced to 20 months in prison for her role in accepting the bribes.
Prosecutors confirmed the church's long-suspected attempts to buy political access, revealing they discovered $19 million in cash inside Han’s personal safe during the investigation.
While the church, founded by the late Sun Myung Moon, has long faced criticism for its aggressive donation tactics and cult-like practices, this ruling marks a definitive legal blow to its influence-peddling operations.
The church has historically maintained deep ties to political figures across the globe, including various U.S. officials and international leaders, but this conviction exposes the criminal reality behind its facade.
With the group already facing dissolution orders in Japan and bans in other nations, this sentencing serves as a necessary consequence for an organization that sought to weaponize its wealth to bypass the rule of law.
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