On August 31, 2026, according to South Korea's Yonhap News, a South Korean court handed down a 2-year custodial sentence in the first instance to Han Hak-ja, president of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Former Unification Church), who had been indicted over "political-religious collusion" with the Yoon Suk-yeol (Yun Seok-yeol) administration.

According to the article, the Seoul Central District Court that day sentenced President Han to 1 year in prison for violating the Political Funds Act and 1 year in prison for violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, respectively.

The public prosecution special prosecutor team, acting on behalf of the prosecution, had sought 5 years in prison for violating the Political Funds Act and 8 years in prison for other crimes.

The court found Han and others guilty of all major allegations they were involved in. One of the biggest points of contention was the allegation that in January 2022, 100 million won (approximately 11.6 million yen) was given to Kwon Seong-dong (Kwon Seoung-dong), a former lawmaker of the then-ruling People Power Party and a close aide to former President Yoon Suk-yeol (who was sentenced to a custodial sentence for violating the Political Funds Act), in order to solicit support for the Unification Church under the Yoon administration. The court recognized that President Han and her former chief secretary conspired with Yoon Young-ho (Yoon Yeong-ho), a former executive of the organization, to provide political funds.

Furthermore, the court also found them guilty of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act concerning the allegation that around July 2022, they presented luxury necklaces and Chanel bags to Kim Keon-hee (Kim Kun-hee), wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, through a shaman named Jeon Seong-bae, and lobbied on issues concerning the organization. The court also recognized that the embezzlement of Unification Church funds during this process constituted a crime.

Moreover, in March 2022, Han and others were also found guilty of the allegation that they divided approximately 144 million won (approximately 16.7 million yen) of Unification Church organizational funds and made political donations to lawmakers belonging to the People Power Party.

On the other hand, they were found not guilty of the charge of occupational embezzlement for falsely accounting for 210 million won (approximately 24.4 million yen) of organizational funds as missionary support expenses and sending it to five dioceses.

Furthermore, allegations such as obtaining investigative information regarding Han and others' overseas casino gambling and instructing defendant Yoon Young-ho to destroy evidence were deemed not subject to investigation under the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act, resulting in the dismissal of the charges.

Regarding this, South Korean netizens commented, 'Two years in prison is too short,' 'If it only takes two years in prison, the collusion will continue,' 'Even though it has come to light that politics and religion were so closely connected, the punishment is too light,' 'Once again, the luxury gift to Kim Keon-hee is quite shocking,' and '100 million won in political funds, plus luxury bags and necklaces... I wonder how much money was really involved.'

Other comments included, 'It's complicated that some charges were acquitted or dismissed,' 'It shouldn't be normal for religious organizations to exert influence on politicians,' 'I want them to investigate more people involved,' 'It seems there's still a lot that hasn't been revealed about what happened during the Yoon administration,' and 'It's only the first instance, so it's not over yet. It depends on what happens in the appeals court.' (Translation and editing by Higuchi)