Unification Church leader arrested in bribery case involving former South Korean president’s wife

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.

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.