SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors have indicted the Unification Church’s leader on charges of making illegal donations linked to the nation’s former first lady.
Han Hak-ja, who was arrested last month over the allegations, faces charges including violation of the Political Funds Act according to a special counsel team statement.
The 82-year-old church leader is suspected of involvement in giving luxury items to the wife of now-jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Prosecutors accuse Han of delivering luxury goods worth approximately 82 million won to the former president’s spouse on three separate occasions.
The former first lady has been separately arrested and indicted on charges of bribery and stock market manipulation.
Her husband Yoon remains in custody and is standing trial over his declaration of martial law last December.
Han also allegedly conspired with a former church official to give 100 million won to People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong in 2022.
This payment was reportedly made to seek favour with Yoon, who became president that same year.
The special counsel will continue investigating Han and her associates for other possible offences including alleged violations of the Political Parties Act.
After her husband Moon Sun-myung’s 2012 death, Han assumed leadership of the controversial church founded in 1954.
Church members now refer to Han as god’s “only begotten daughter” and the “holy mother” within their religious community.
The Unification Church claims approximately three million followers globally including 300,000 in South Korea and 600,000 in Japan.
The organization oversees a sprawling business empire encompassing construction, tourism, education and media operations worldwide. – AFP
