Police transfer Unification Church leader to prosecution over alleged illegal political donations
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Police have transferred Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja and three other church officials to the prosecution over their alleged involvement in illegal political donations, officials said Tuesday.
Han, who is currently in custody over bribery charges involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee, was among the four suspects a special investigation team handed over the previous day.
The other suspects are Yun Young-ho, former head of the church’s global headquarters, Jeong Won-ju, Han’s former chief secretary, and Song Gwang-seok, a former head of the Universal Peace Foundation affiliated with the church.
They are accused of giving illegal donations to both ruling and opposition politicians in an organized way in early 2019. Police believe church officials made the donations under their names and were later reimbursed by the church.
Han is suspected of orchestrating the illegal donations, while the others are believed to have made the donations.
The church leader and Jeong are already standing trial on charges of making separate illegal donations to main opposition People Power Party lawmakers.
The move comes after the special investigation team launched on Dec. 10 to look into various allegations surrounding the church.
It is also investigating allegations that former Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo and other politicians received luxury gifts or cash from the church between 2018 and 2020.
Content retrieved from: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/southkorea/law-crime/20251230/police-transfer-unification-church-leader-to-prosecution-over-alleged-illegal-political-donations.
