Han Hak-ja Said She'd Be in Hospital, but She Was in Palace…Bail Revoked, Re-incarcerated

The person said to be in the hospital was in a palace. On the 3rd, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 13 revoked the bail of Han Hak-ja, chairwoman of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church), and confiscated the 200 million won bail deposit. This came just two weeks after she was released on sick leave bail on the 19th of last month with her residence restricted to a hospital due to deteriorating health. The court's decision came after broadcasts reported that Chairwoman Han ventured beyond the hospital and visited Cheongpyeong, a religious facility in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Chairwoman Han was re-incarcerated before midnight that day.

Chairwoman Han's legal risks have already piled up. She was arrested last September as the first religious leader in special prosecutor investigation history, indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, and embezzlement, and received a 2-year prison sentence in the first trial in August of this year. The special prosecutor sought 13 years. An appeal is ongoing, and on charges of separately embezzling 10.5 billion won of church funds for private use (embezzlement under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes), she was separately indicted without detention, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for the 12th of this month.

The path through which church donations became gifts of political power has been substantially confirmed through verdicts. Former lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, who received 100 million won from the Unification Church, had his sentence of 2 years confirmed by the Supreme Court in July and lost his legislative seat; Jeon Seong-bae, the so-called "Geonjin monk" who served as the conduit for money transfers, had his 5-year sentence confirmed. The charges that approximately 80 million won worth of Chanel bags and diamond necklaces were given to Kim Keon-hee are currently being tried. Whether reading what has been confirmed or what is being tried separately, the structure of a religious organization using money to knock on the door of power is already in the court record.

Across the sea, the legal foundation of the religious group itself collapsed. Japan's Supreme Court confirmed in June, with unanimous agreement among all justices, a dissolution order against the Family Federation. This is the first case in Japanese history of a religious corporation being dissolved based on tort law under the Civil Code. The heikinjin (donation damage) acknowledged by the Japanese courts amounts to 20.4 billion yen, affecting over 1,500 victims, and approximately 104 billion yen in assets entered into liquidator management. Yamagami Tetsuya, at the starting point of all these incidents—the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo—received a life sentence without parole in the first trial in January of this year. During the trial, it was confirmed again that the donations his mother made to the religious group destroyed his family.

Within the religious organization, Chairwoman Han is called "True Mother" and even "Mother God." The physical manifestation of that deification is Cheongpyeong Palace in Gapyeong. However, the deification is not complete even within the family. Her son Moon Hyung-jin (Sanctuary Church) has publicly criticized his mother's organization as under "Satan's dominion" and called this situation the "beginning of judgment." Outside, the courts point in one direction; inside, blood relatives point in the same direction.

The fact that this story's stage is Gyeonggi Province leaves separate questions for the region. The location of the search and seizure was Cheongpyeong Palace, as was the place of outings that became grounds for bail revocation. The organization has been conducting large-scale development, saying it would make the Cheongpyeong area a "Vatican-like sacred site," and the close ties with regional politics—from allegations of preferential treatment surrounding Gapyeong County's special district designation and administrative support to county magistrate candidates' attendance at church meetings during election season—have been consistently pointed out. Now it is time for Gapyeong County and Gyeonggi Province to answer how much the region has accompanied the religious organization's sacralization in the name of tax revenue and development.

In a statement, the organization has claimed a "lack of understanding regarding the role of religious leaders," asserting that organizational funds are "voluntary devotional offerings" and that outings during bail constitute "no violation." A first answer to these claims has already come. The court confiscated the bail deposit and re-incarcerated her.

Faith is not subject to judgment in court. However, money and lies are different. As donations flowed into political power and hospital rooms were transformed into palaces, courts in two countries have moved toward the same conclusion. The palace of the True Mother is now crumbling from both inside and out.