Who is Han Hak-ja, ‘True Mother’ at center of Unification Church scandals?
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Han Hak-ja, the 82-year-old leader of the Unification Church and widow of its founder Moon Sun-myung, is back in the headlines. She faces a major bribery and lobbying scandal in Korea, while her movement confronts a historic court-ordered dissolution in Japan.
The twin crises are forcing renewed scrutiny of her personal claims to messianic status, the church’s fundraising practices and its decades-long ties to politicians in both countries.
Han entered the church’s historical record as a 17-year-old teenage bride in 1960, marrying Moon, who was 23 years her senior. Raised in a devout Christian family amid the upheaval of postwar Korea, she went on to consolidate her authority within the movement as Moon’s spiritual counterpart, elevating their marriage and 14 children as a “true family” and theological ideal at the core of the church’s belief system.
Han has been a central figure in the mass “blessing” weddings that made the Unification Church globally famous, appearing alongside Moon on stage as they married thousands of couples from dozens of countries at a time. The ceremonies served to entrench her status as a co-founder of what the movement portrays as a purified lineage destined to restore humanity, reinforcing a belief system that binds family life and salvation to loyalty to the Moon-Han household.
Read more https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/southkorea/politics/20251216/explainer-who-is-han-hak-ja-true-mother-at-center-of-unification-church-scandals
Content retrieved from: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/southkorea/politics/20251216/explainer-who-is-han-hak-ja-true-mother-at-center-of-unification-church-scandals.
