3 weeks ago
23
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Han Hak-ja — the widow of the church’s founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon — was accused of bribing a former first lady for business and political favors.
Sept. 23, 2025Updated 12:53 a.m. ET
The widow and successor of the Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon was arrested on Tuesday on charges of providing illegal political funds and bribing the wife of Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and ousted as president of South Korea.
Han Hak-ja, 82, was being held in a jail south of Seoul after a court in the capital city issued a warrant for her arrest early Tuesday. The court expressed concern that if she remained free she could try to destroy criminal evidence against her.
Ms. Han, known as “True Mother” among her followers in South Korea and abroad, has been leading the Unification Church since the Rev. Moon died in 2012 at age 92. She and her church have not drawn much public attention in South Korea, a country with no shortage of politically influential or scandalous religious leaders.
But Ms. Han and the Unification Church suddenly made headlines this year in connection with criminal investigations targeting Mr. Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee.
Mr. Yoon plunged South Korea into months of political turmoil when he declared martial law last December as a move against his domestic enemies. He was expelled from office in April after his impeachment by the opposition-controlled National Assembly and is now on trial on insurrection charges.
Last month, Ms. Kim was arrested on charges including accepting bribes. She is accused of accepting a diamond necklace and two Chanel bags from a senior official of the Unification Church after Mr. Yoon’s election in 2022. The official, who has since left the church, was also arrested, as was a self-proclaimed religious guru accused of working as an intermediary between him and Ms. Kim.
