Unification Church leader allegedly distributed luxury watches to senior aides
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The Unification Church is facing fresh scrutiny following allegations that its leader Han Hak-ja distributed dozens of luxury watches to senior aides just weeks before a special counsel probe, raising suspicions that the gifts were meant to erase or conceal evidence of political lobbying and illicit payments.
The distribution allegedly took place in early June last year, when about 40 senior figures of the Unification Church, including regional diocesan heads and pastors, quietly gathered at Cheon Jeong Gung, the church’s headquarters in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi, where Han was staying at the time.
By then, prosecutors had already launched an investigation into the church, and a special counsel team probing allegations linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee was about to be formed.
At the gathering, Han personally handed out wristwatches — which she had kept in her private quarters — to those in attendance. Several of the watches were from luxury brands, such as Cartier, and reportedly valued at well over 10 million won ($6,800) each.
That the watches could be sold for tens of millions of won in four or five years.
The watches were distributed around the time the National Assembly passed the bill to launch the Kim Keon Hee special counsel on June 5, 2025, according to multiple sources acquainted with the Unification Church.
It was also roughly a month before the special counsel team carried out raids on safes inside Han’s private quarters at Cheon Jeong Gung on July 18. Given the timing, some see the episode as a possible attempt to remove traces of monetary lobbying involving politicians and other figures ahead of the investigation.
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