Han Hak-ja, President of the Unification Church, voluntarily appeared before the office of special counsel Min Joong-ki for questioning on September 17. Following the arrest of lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on charges of receiving bribes along with favors from the Unification Church, investigators are now focusing on President Han, who has been identified as the “final decision-maker” in the alleged lobbying case. The probe is centering on five main charges against her.

Having ignored three prior summons, Han appeared at the special counsel’s office located in KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul. She was questioned from 10 a.m. until 4:45 p.m., reviewed her statement, and left around 7:30 p.m. On her way out, when asked why she allegedly handed over 100 million won to Kweon, Han retorted, “Why would I need to do such a thing?” Asked whether she had ordered or approved lobbying requests related to the Unification Church, she answered, “No.” In response to a question about whether she had ever given former First Lady Kim Keon-hee a necklace or handbag, Han said, “Why would I do that?”

During the interrogation, investigators posed more than 50 pages of prepared questions. Han did not exercise her right to remain silent but reportedly denied all allegations. Special counsel Min’s team has laid out five charges against her: violations of the Political Funds Act, the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, and the Political Parties Act, as well as embezzlement of church funds and ordering the destruction of evidence.

The alleged violation of the Political Funds Act concerns suspicions that Han, together with her chief of staff, surnamed Jeong, and Yoon Young-ho, head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, illegally provided political funds to Kweon. Investigators believe that in January 2022, the church gave Kweon 100 million won in illegal political funds in return for handling petitions and support for then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. They also suspect that in February and March that year, Kweon met Han twice at Cheon Jeong Gung in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, where he received shopping bags filled with cash. Han is also accused of donating a total of 210 million won of church funds to local chapters of the PPP.

Han further faces allegations under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for delivering gifts worth around 80 million won to former First Lady Kim through Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman known as Geon Jin, between April and July 2022, allegedly to facilitate various church petitions. The special counsel team also charged her with embezzlement, claiming she used church funds to provide bribes to both Kweon and Kim.

In addition, the prosecutors suspect that in early November 2022, Kim, through Jeon, requested Yoon to mobilize Unification Church members to join the PPP en masse ahead of its leadership election on March 8, 2023, in order to support Kweon. Han is regarded as an accomplice in this scheme, leading to a Political Parties Act violation charge. She also faces charges of ordering the destruction of evidence after learning in October 2022, via Kweon, that authorities were investigating her alleged overseas gambling.

On the night of the 16th, Nam Se-jin, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Kweon on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, citing concerns that he might destroy evidence. With this, both Kweon and Kim, accused of receiving money and favors from the Unification Church, have been detained. The intermediaries, Yoon and Jeon, have also been arrested.

Given the gravity of the charges and the risks of evidence destruction and flight, the prosecutors are also considering requesting an arrest warrant for Han.

In a briefing the same day, deputy special counsel Kim Hyung-geun said, “Han chose to appear unilaterally on a date of her own choosing, without consultation, after seeing the court’s decision to detain her co-conspirator Kweon,” adding, “The special counsel team will continue to handle this case strictly in accordance with the law and due process.”