Unification Church President Hak Ja Han to Face Sentencing Recommendation in 'Church-State Collusion' Trial Today

The prosecution is set to announce its sentencing recommendation today (July 10) for Unification Church President Hak Ja Han, who is on trial for alleged collusion between the church and the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 27 (Presiding Judge Woo In-sung) will hold the final hearing for President Han, who has been indicted on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act, at 10:10 a.m. today.

This comes nine months after President Han was arrested and indicted on October 10 of last year.

The final hearing will proceed with the prosecution's closing arguments and sentencing recommendation, followed by the defense's closing arguments and the defendant's final statement.

The court is expected to announce the date for the final verdict at the end of today's proceedings.

President Han is accused of conspiring with her former chief of staff, identified by his surname Jeong, and former Global Headquarters Director Yoon Young-ho to deliver 100 million won in political funds to People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong around January 2022, while requesting the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's support for the Unification Church (violation of the Political Funds Act).

She also faces charges of violating the Political Funds Act for allegedly splitting 144 million won in church funds into smaller donations to lawmakers, including those from the People Power Party, between March and April of the same year.

Furthermore, they are accused of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act by allegedly delivering an expensive necklace and a Chanel bag to Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, through a person known as 'Geonjin Beopsa' Jeon Seong-bae around July 2022, while soliciting help for church-related issues.

President Han and Jeong are also charged with abetting the destruction of evidence, allegedly instructing former Director Yoon to destroy evidence after obtaining information regarding an investigation into their overseas casino gambling around October of the same year.

The indictment against President Han also details charges of providing 100,000 dollars in campaign funds to a member of parliament in an African nation and 500,000 dollars in campaign funds to a political party affiliated with the president of an Asian nation around July 2022.

Since the investigation stage, President Han has consistently denied the charges, claiming that the actions were the personal misconduct of former Director Yoon.

Conversely, former Director Yoon maintains that all criminal acts were carried out under the approval and direction of President Han.

Former Director Yoon was separately indicted on charges of providing money and valuables to Kim Keon-hee and lawmaker Kweon, and his sentence of one year and six months in prison was finalized by the Supreme Court yesterday (July 9).

In the current trial alongside President Han, he is being tried on charges of violating the Political Funds Act related to the split donations to the People Power Party and embezzlement related to foreign campaign funds.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.