Court in Seoul, South Korea, Extends Suspension of Detention for Unification Church Leader Han Hak-ja Until End of September

Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church (the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification), was sentenced to two years in prison by the Seoul Central District Court on August 31, according to a report from Korea Herald’s coverage of her appeal. Accounts of the charges differ. One report said the court found her guilty of bribery for providing luxury items, including a designer handbag, to former first lady Kim Keon Hee during the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol. Prosecutors had initially sought a 13-year sentence in that case, that report said. Another report described the conviction as relating to political financing and bribery. A third described the case as centering on alleged collusion between the church and the government of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, and said the court found that she had engaged in activities to expand the organization’s political and social reach through collaboration with government officials. Prosecutors argued that these actions were part of a broader strategy to enhance the Family Federation’s visibility and authority, according to that report.

Han, who is 83, appeared in court in a wheelchair, wearing hospital pyjamas and a surgical mask, one report said. Her request for bail was rejected, and the court’s ruling on the prison sentence came the day before she would otherwise have been detained. She was not immediately taken into custody because a suspension of detention had already been granted on health grounds.

The Seoul Central District Court’s 27th criminal division, presided over by Judge Woo In-sung, then extended that suspension of detention until the end of September, one report said. The extension means Han’s release was continued for the time being, according to the same account.

Han later appeared at the Seoul High Court on October 13 for the first hearing of her appeal. She arrived in a wheelchair and wearing hospital clothing, reports said. The court also addressed her request for release on bail.

Reports from the appeal hearing said the court took up the question of bail as part of the proceedings. Those accounts did not describe a ruling on the appeal itself.