A South Korean court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for the 82-year-old leader of the Unification Church, who is under investigation over allegations that the church bribed the wife of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol and a conservative lawmaker.
Hak Ja Han, the 82-year-old 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 Ms Hak’s arrest, saying she posed a risk of destroying evidence.
Last week, South Korean prosecutors announced that they had sought an arrest warrant for Ms Hak following questioning a day earlier.
Ms Kim was taken into custody last month on charges that include bribery, stock manipulation, and interference in the selection of a parliamentary candidate. Her legal team has rejected all accusations.
Last week, lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, a close ally of Mr Yoon, was also arrested. He has denied accepting any funds from the Unification Church.
On Thursday, investigators visited the headquarters of his conservative People Power Party, seeking records to probe allegations that church members enrolled en masse ahead of the party’s 2023 leadership contest to strengthen Mr Kweon’s bid.
Ms Kim’s case is one of three special prosecutor investigations initiated under Seoul’s new liberal administration against Mr Yoon’s presidency. The other probes examine the former president’s brief declaration of martial law on 3 December and the government’s alleged mishandling of a marine’s death during a 2023 flood rescue operation.
Ms Kim has faced scrutiny over multiple criminal allegations linked to both her husband’s time in office and earlier events. Investigators are looking into claims that she received luxury gifts through an intermediary from a Unification Church official who allegedly sought business favours, including the church’s involvement in a development project in Cambodia.
The same official, who has been arrested, is also accused of providing 100 million won ($71,800) in bribes to lawmaker Kweon.
Mr Yoon’s short-lived martial law order ultimately led to his impeachment later that month and his removal from office in April.
The Unification Church has condemned the move to seek Ms Hak’s arrest, arguing she posed no risk of fleeing or tampering with evidence.
The church said that Ms Hak has fully cooperated with investigators, even while recovering from a recent heart procedure.
“Requesting an arrest warrant for an internationally respected religious leader without presenting clear evidence is an excessive move that disregards even the most basic respect due to a religious leader,” the church said in a statement last week.
Ms Hak’s arrest comes after a Japanese court ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church in March, following the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe by a man whose family reportedly suffered financial ruin from church donations.
Ms Hak leads the organisation officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, which was founded by her husband, Sun Myung Moon, in 1954. The members are hence sometimes referred to as “Moonies”.
The church is perhaps most famous for its mass weddings, often uniting thousands of couples, including some newly paired by the organisation. Critics call the group “cult-like”, and authorities say members have been pressured to give large sums of money.
The church said on Tuesday that it would “faithfully engage” with the authorities and “do [its] best to use this as an occasion to restore trust in our church”.
The church also apologised for “causing concern to the people”.
