Korea’s Unholy Conflict on Faith and Motive

[ad_1] The authorized grounds for the arrest have been absent. The costs are implausible and politically motivated. This isn't a corruption case—it’s a purge. by Massimo Introvigne

<img decoding="async" width="640" height="360" src="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mother-Hans-case.png" alt="TV coverage of Mother Han’s case on a large screen in Seoul’s Yongsan Station. Photo by Massimo Introvigne." class="wp-image-51392" srcset="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mother-Hans-case.png 640w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mother-Hans-case-320x180.png 320w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"/> TV protection of Mom Han’s case on a big display screen in Seoul’s Yongsan Station. Photograph by Massimo Introvigne. South Korea has simply added a brand new chapter to its long-running saga of political purges disguised as felony justice. This time, the protagonist is Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon—identified to her followers as “Holy Mom Han”—the 82-year-old chief of the Household Federation for World Peace and Unification (previously the Unification Church). Her arrest is not only a authorized misstep. It’s a full-blown religiocide , a state-sponsored assault on spiritual liberty dressed up within the robes of anti-corruption.

Protesting is critical, however not ample. What’s wanted is readability. “Bitter Winter” will dissect this travesty by answering three questions. Was there any authorized foundation for arresting Mom Han? What precisely is she accused of? Is that this a case of frequent crime—or a political and non secular purge?

1. The Authorized Grounds for Arrest

In Korea, like in most democracies, pre-trial detention is justified provided that there’s a danger of flight or destruction of proof. Let’s take a look at these towards actuality.

Flight danger? Mom Han is 82, recovering from coronary heart surgical procedure, and has been underneath a journey ban since March. She’s not precisely sprinting for the airport.

Destruction of proof? That is the facet Seoul Central District Court docket Decide Jeong Jae-wook underlined within the arrest choice. Nevertheless, Mom Han’s residences and church workplaces have been raided a number of instances. Prosecutors have already seized each scrap of paper, each exhausting drive, each byte of information. What’s left for her to destroy—her recollections?

In brief, the arrest warrant is constructed on sand. The authorized stipulations weren't met.

2. The Expenses

Second, the fees. The Particular Counsel has thrown 4 costs into the combination. Two others—alleged mass enrollment of church members into the conservative Folks Energy Occasion (PPP) and money presents to Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a PPP chief who has additionally been arrested—are nonetheless underneath investigation and not a part of Mom Han’s arrest warrant.

These further costs are regarding, as they seem to infringe upon the constitutional proper of each citizen, together with spiritual people, to help the politicians and events of their alternative. The declare that Mom Han enrolled 110,000 members of the Household Federation within the PPP exceeds the overall membership of her spiritual group in Korea (the determine of multiple million members, talked about within the Korean media, consists of sympathizers and “ambassadors for peace” of the Common Peace Federation who will not be devotees of the church).

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2047" height="1517" src="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Rep.-Kweon-Seong-dong.jpeg" alt="Rep. Kweon Seong-dong. Credits." class="wp-image-51393" style="width:640px" srcset="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Rep.-Kweon-Seong-dong.jpeg 2047w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Rep.-Kweon-Seong-dong-768x569.jpeg 768w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Rep.-Kweon-Seong-dong-1536x1138.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2047px) 100vw, 2047px"/> Rep. Kweon Seong-dong. Credits . I'll consider the 4 costs listed within the arrest warrant.

Cost #1: Bribery through Rep. Kweon. Mom Han allegedly instructed a church govt (already indicted and expelled from the Household Federation) to ship ₩100 million to the PPP and President Yoon’s administration via Rep. Kweon. The determine is often reported in worldwide media in Korean gained solely and should impress some readers. Nevertheless, changing to U.S. {dollars}, it quantities to $73,000. South Korean politicians could also be low cost, however in a area troubled by widespread corruption and substantial bribes, the notion you can purchase the ruling social gathering and the President of a G20 nation for simply $73,000 is absurd.

And the supposed purpose? Affect over a wire company acquisition and Cambodian enterprise pursuits. Neither materialized. Prosecutors even declare the cash was used to safe VIP seats at Yoon’s inauguration. This from a girl who hosts world summits with presidents and prime ministers—together with Donald Trump. The concept that she’d commit a felony for a seat at a home ceremony is laughable.

Cost #2: Presents to the First Girl. A diamond necklace ($43,000) and two Chanel purses ($14,000) have been allegedly gifted to President Yoon’s spouse through a shaman middleman. Mom Han denies involvement, claiming the rogue govt is answerable for the act. Unsurprisingly, he's making an attempt to shift all blame onto her for his misdeeds. The overall worth is a fraction of what’s sometimes high-stakes bribery in Korea. Add some ginseng tea to the combination, and you continue to don’t have a political scandal—you will have a luxurious buying spree at finest.

Cost #3: Embezzlement. Prosecutors declare Mom Han used church funds for private actions, together with presents. However this seems like stealing from her personal pocket: in spiritual actions just like the Household Federation (and bigger ones), the road between private and organizational funds is commonly blurred. Donors revere Mom Han as a messianic determine and sure see no distinction between giving to the church and giving to her.

Cost #4: Destruction of Proof. In 2022, Mom Han allegedly instructed the identical govt who gifted the First Girl with baggage and jewels to destroy proof of her playing in Las Vegas. The narrative surrounding playing might sound compelling to these not well-versed within the historical past of the Unification Church. The allegations date again nearly fifty years.

Playing is against the law for Korean residents, domestically (aside from Kangwon Land On line casino, situated in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province) and overseas. Nevertheless, the explanations behind Mom Han’s alleged makes an attempt to destroy proof in Korea in 2022, associated to her playing within the U.S. greater than a decade earlier, stay unclear. Quite a few anti-cult books and web sites broadcast these tales for half a century. The paperwork that Korean prosecutors declare Mom Han sought to hide have already been disclosed and utilized in court docket proceedings by rival factions opposing her and the church.

Reverend Moon himself addressed these points throughout a well-known speech on October 7, 1979, which the church nonetheless makes publicly out there on-line. In that deal with, he articulated his intention to have interaction with the Las Vegas playing scene, emphasizing his purpose of reaching out with a message of salvation—even in such an sudden setting: “If spiritual folks run away from evil, who will take accountability for cleansing it up?”

The evangelistic technique of mingling with sinners to evangelize them can certainly result in issues and suspicions, as evidenced by Jesus being accused of consuming with publicans and prostitutes. Some could discover this method questionable.

Nevertheless, this isn't the main target of the present state of affairs in Korea. The important thing level is that Mom Han didn't want to have interaction in unlawful actions to forestall the story of playing from turning into public. This narrative has been identified and extensively utilized by her opponents for over forty years. So why would Mom Han attempt to bury a narrative that’s already been exhumed, dissected, and archived?

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2111" height="1716" src="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Yoon-Suk-Yeol-and-his-wife-Kim-Keon-Hee.jpeg" alt="Disgraced President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee. Credits." class="wp-image-51394" style="width:640px" srcset="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Yoon-Suk-Yeol-and-his-wife-Kim-Keon-Hee.jpeg 2111w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Yoon-Suk-Yeol-and-his-wife-Kim-Keon-Hee-768x624.jpeg 768w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Yoon-Suk-Yeol-and-his-wife-Kim-Keon-Hee-1536x1249.jpeg 1536w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Yoon-Suk-Yeol-and-his-wife-Kim-Keon-Hee-2048x1665.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2111px) 100vw, 2111px"/> Disgraced President Yoon Suk Yeol and his spouse Kim Keon Hee. Credits . 3. The Context

This isn’t nearly Mom Han. It’s a few sweeping purge of spiritual leaders accused of getting supported former President Yoon and the PPP. In a latest examine, Swiss scholar Adrian Gasser evidenced the numerous help of a coalition of spiritual teams drawn to his anti-Communist and anti-gay rights agenda for the now disgraced President Yoon. Paradoxically, a few of Yoon’s spiritual supporters have been anti-cult crusaders. Now they might share jail cells with the “heretics” they as soon as condemned.

The Household Federation and Shincheonji, one other important Korean new spiritual motion, have been among the many main targets. Shincheonji is now additionally accused of enrolling 1000's of members within the Folks Energy Occasion (PPP) to help Yoon in the course of the primaries that preceded the presidential elections. Representatives of the present ruling social gathering, the Democratic Occasion of Korea (DPK), are even calling for the disbandment of the PPP, alleging that it operates as a entrance for spiritual teams and “cults.”

Pastor Lee Younger-hoon, the chief of Yoido Full Gospel Church, the biggest Pentecostal congregation on this planet, and Pastor Kim Jang-hwan from the Far East Broadcasting Firm, who can be the previous president of the Baptist World Alliance, had their church buildings and workplaces raided.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Lee-Young-hoon-scaled.jpeg" alt="Pastor Lee Young-hoon preaching at Yoido Full Gospel Church. Photo by Massimo Introvigne." class="wp-image-51395" style="width:640px" srcset="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Lee-Young-hoon-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Lee-Young-hoon-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Lee-Young-hoon-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Lee-Young-hoon-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"/> Pastor Lee Younger-hoon preaching at Yoido Full Gospel Church. Photograph by Massimo Introvigne. They're accused of lobbying in favor of Lin Seng-geum, a former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander and supporter of President Yoon. Lin is dealing with costs of involuntary manslaughter following the demise of Corporal Chae Soo-geun, who died in 2023 throughout a flood rescue mission. It's alleged that Corporal Chae was despatched on this mission with out correct security tools.

Pastor Son Hyun-bo of Busan Segyeoro Church was arrested for allegedly violating election legal guidelines by mobilizing church devotees to help the PPP.

The frequent thread? All supported Yoon. All are actually targets. The crackdown is so blatant that President Trump himself denounced the “vicious raids on church buildings” in Korea. And he’s not incorrect. This isn't about purses or necklaces. It’s about silencing spiritual voices that dared to again the incorrect candidates.

Korea has a practice of prosecuting and jailing former presidents. However what’s new right here is the spiritual dimension of this nationwide sport. Yoon’s rise was fueled by a coalition of conservative religionists—evangelicals, Pentecostals, and a few new spiritual actions. Now, the leftist authorities is concentrating on all of them.

On the 2021 funeral of Yoido’s founder, Pastor Kim laid palms on then-Prosecutor Normal Yoon, successfully endorsing him as a PPP candidate for President. Right this moment, that gesture is being repaid with raids and arrests.

Let’s additionally dispense with the parable that the Household Federation was some type of monolithic political machine for President Yoon. It wasn’t. Sure, the group shared sure conservative values with the PPP—anti-Communism, conventional household constructions, and the like—however help was removed from unanimous or unconditioned. Native church leaders held a spectrum of political beliefs, and Mom Han’s occasions have traditionally welcomed representatives from each the PPP and the DPK. Inclusivity, not partisanship, was the norm.

However in at this time’s local weather, nuance is a criminal offense. Any whiff of previous sympathy for the PPP—regardless of how certified or incidental—is now handled as treason. The message from the particular prosecutors is evident: should you as soon as dared to shake palms with the incorrect social gathering, we’ll slap you in cuffs. Retroactive guilt by affiliation has grow to be the brand new judicial normal.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1370" height="921" src="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mother-Han.jpeg" alt="Mother Han arriving at the pre-arrest hearing on a wheelchair. Screenshot." class="wp-image-51396" style="width:640px" srcset="https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mother-Han.jpeg 1370w, https://bitterwinter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mother-Han-768x516.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1370px) 100vw, 1370px"/> Mom Han arriving on the pre-arrest listening to on a wheelchair. Screenshot. If this have been nearly Mom Han, skeptics would possibly cling to the bribery narrative. However the scale of the crackdown reveals the reality: this can be a broad political and non secular purge. And with Korea’s prosecutors boasting a 95% conviction charge, the stakes are existential—not just for Mom Han, who, as a result of her well being situation, is at excessive danger of not surviving imprisonment, but in addition for the broader points of spiritual freedom and democracy.

Worldwide protests are very important. However they should be clear-eyed and centered. The authorized grounds for arresting Mom Han have been absent. The costs are implausible and politically motivated. This isn't a corruption case—it’s a purge.

The world should not mistake persecution for prosecution. Korea’s democracy and non secular liberty are on trial. And the decision will echo far past its borders.