Arrest Warrant for Former Chief Secretary Dismissed
"Strong Suspicion of Accomplice, but Right to Defense Must Be Protected"
Special Prosecutor Kim Keonhee’s Team Gains Momentum
Investigating Alleged Mass Admission of Unification Church Members into People Power Party
Han Hakja, the Unification Church president suspected of "collusion between politics and religion causing state corruption" involving the Yoon Sukyeol administration and the Unification Church, is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court on the 22nd for a pre-arrest warrant hearing. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
The special prosecutor team led by Min Junggi, investigating the so-called "collusion between politics and religion causing state corruption" allegations involving the Yoon Sukyeol administration and the Unification Church, is expected to gain momentum in its probe after securing the custody of Han Hakja, president of the Unification Church.
On the 23rd, Judge Jeong Jaewook, who is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for President Han, who is accused of violating the Political Funds Act and other charges, stating that "there is concern about the destruction of evidence."
President Han is accused of conspiring with Yoon, the former global headquarters director of the Unification Church, to provide 100 million won in political funds to Kwon Seongdong, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, in January 2022 while requesting support for the Unification Church from the Yoon Sukyeol administration. She is also accused of being involved in delivering an expensive necklace and a Chanel bag to First Lady Kim Keonhee through Jeon Seongbae, known as Geonjin Bopsa, in 2022 in connection with lobbying for church-related issues, and of purchasing these items with church funds. Additionally, she faces charges of instructing Yoon to destroy evidence in October 2022 in preparation for a police investigation into her alleged overseas gambling.
The special prosecutor team included in Yoon’s indictment that the Unification Church, following President Han’s intentions, approached the former president and his wife to lobby for church-related issues in an attempt to realize the ideology of "unity of church and state," which asserts that the nation should be governed according to the will of the church.
There are also suspicions that, ahead of the 2023 People Power Party convention, a large number of Unification Church members were admitted to the party to support Kwon’s bid for party leader. The special prosecutor team recently raided an external company managing the People Power Party’s membership database and secured a list of approximately 110,000 party members believed to be Unification Church followers.
Meanwhile, the arrest warrant requested by the special prosecutor team for Jeong, the former chief secretary to the president, on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, was dismissed.
Judge Jeong stated, "While there is strong suspicion that he may be an accomplice in the main joint offenses, considering the decision-making process, the decision-makers related to the alleged crimes, and the specific details and executors of the offenses as shown in the records, it is difficult to conclude that his involvement as an accomplice has been sufficiently substantiated. In the case of individual offenses, given the intended use of the funds and their ultimate destination, there is room for dispute regarding the suspect's culpability or degree of responsibility, and at this stage, detaining him could excessively restrict his right to defense. Taking all these factors into account, the necessity or reasonableness of detention cannot be recognized."
Jeong, the former chief secretary, is known as the deputy director of Cheonmuwon, the highest administrative body of the Unification Church, and a close aide to President Han. He has reportedly been named as a co-conspirator in most of the criminal facts listed in President Han’s arrest warrant.
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