'Moonies' church leader jailed for two years over bribery offences
Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church, has been sentenced to two years in prison for bribery and political funding offenses in South Korea. The case involved the exchange of luxury goods for political favors with the former first lady, Kim Keon Hee.
Why it matters
This case exposes corruption at the highest levels of South Korean politics and highlights the controversial influence of the Unification Church.
Image source, Reuters Image caption, Han Hak-ja arriving at a Seoul court for her sentencing hearing on Monday
The leader of the controversial Unification Church has been sentenced to two years in prison for bribing South Korea's former first lady and other political funding offences.
A court found that Han Hak-ja's church gave Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace, together worth 80 million won ($57,900; £42,500).
Earlier this year, Kim was sentenced to 20 months in jail for accepting bribes from the church.
Han, the 83-year-old widow of the Unification Church's founder Sun Myung Moon, had repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them "false".
A special counsel team appointed to the case said Kim received the luxury products from the church between April and July 2022, in exchange for business and political favours.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in