South Korean prosecutors yesterday requested an arrest warrant for the leader of the Unification Church, Hak-ja Han, on allegations of bribery linked to the country’s former first lady and incitement to destroy evidence.
The move came a day after the 82-year-old was questioned over her alleged role in bribing former first lady Kim Keon-hee and a lawmaker.
Founded in 1954 by her late husband, Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church has long been the subject of controversy and criticism, with its teachings centered on Moon’s role as the “second coming” and its mass weddings.
Photo :AFP
Followers are derisively referred to as “Moonies.”
However, the church’s reach extends far beyond religion, spanning businesses from media and tourism to food distribution.
Han assumed leadership of the church after Moon’s death in 2012.
“We have requested an arrest warrant for Han earlier today,” prosecutor Park Sang-jin said. “The charges against her include violation of political funds act, anti-graft law, incitement to destroy evidence and embezzlement.”
“We considered the risk of Han tampering with evidence to be very high, which led us to seek the warrant,” Park said.
A court is expected to review the validity of the warrant request early next week.
Han is suspected of ordering the delivery of luxury gifts including a designer handbag and diamond necklace to Kim in 2022 to curry favor with her husband, Yoon Suk-yeol, who became president that year.
The former first lady has been arrested and indicted on charges of bribery and manipulation of stock markets, while her husband — also in custody — is standing trial over his declaration of martial law in December last year.
The couple fell from grace after Yoon’s martial law declaration briefly suspended civilian rule, before it was overturned by opposition members of parliament.
Yoon was impeached and removed from office in April over the attempt.
Han also faces allegations of bribing a prominent member of parliament with 100 million won (US$72,000).
A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for the lawmaker, Kweon Seong-dong, citing the risk that he could tamper with evidence.
Han, who was wheeled out of the prosecutors’ office after more than nine hours of questioning, denied wrongdoing.
“Why would I have done that?” she said when asked about the allegations.
Park also said that Han during the questioning on Wednesday had denied committing any crimes.
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