South Korea court gives Unification Church leader 2 years prison
Unification Church leader Hak Ja Han, on the wheelchair, arrives for the sentencing hearing on allegations of bribery and political funding, at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP Pool Photo)
A South Korean court sentenced the leader of the secretive and powerful Unification Church on Aug. 31 to two years in prison on charges of bribing officials, including the then president’s wife.
Han Hak-ja, 83, was accused of providing luxury items, including a designer handbag, to former first lady Kim Keon Hee while her husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, was president, in an attempt to secure policy favors.
She arrived on Aug. 31 for sentencing, at which prosecutors had sought a 13-year term, in a wheelchair, wearing hospital pajamas and a surgical mask, surrounded by aides.
