Article body
Han Hak-ja, the leader of the Unification Church, has been sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial for illegal political funding and violations of the Anti-Corruption Act. The 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to one year in prison for violations of the Political Fund Act and another year for violations of the Anti-Corruption Act and embezzlement in the ruling delivered on August 31, 2026. Prior to this, the special prosecutor's team had sought a 13-year prison sentence for him.
The court found Han guilty of delivering 100 million won in illegal political funding to former People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong and of using church funds to support ruling party lawmakers in a 'split' manner. In particular, the court specifically described the circumstances under which Han instructed former World Headquarters Director Yoon Young-ho to deliver funds to Kwon during a morning assembly in January 2022, acknowledging his guilt.
Additionally, Han was found guilty of delivering expensive luxury goods to Kim Geon-hee. The court noted that Yoon delivered the items after coordinating with former chief secretary Jeong, viewing this as part of lobbying to resolve the church's current issues. However, the court ruled him not guilty of the embezzlement charges related to the funding process due to insufficient evidence to prove the intent of illegal gain. Furthermore, some of the charges were dismissed due to being outside the scope of the investigation.