Han Hak-ja sentenced to two years in prison in case involving 100 million won and Kim Keon Hee’s Chanel bag

Han Hak-ja, leader of the Unification Church, received a two-year prison sentence in the first trial over money and gifts allegedly provided to South Korean political figures. The Seoul Central District Court handed down one year for violating the Political Funds Act and another year for violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and occupational embezzlement.

The court found that Han conspired with former presidential secretary-general Jung Won-ju and former world headquarters director Yoon Young-ho to give Kwon Seong-dong, a former People Power Party lawmaker, 100 million won in illegal political funds in January 2022.

The court also accepted allegations that Han split 144 million won in Unification Church funds into donations to People Power Party lawmakers and others. It found that she provided former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, with a Chanel bag and a Graff diamond necklace valued at more than 60 million won in July 2022.

The special counsel led by Min Joong-ki had sought a 13-year sentence. Jung was separately sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, for violations of the Political Funds Act and the anti-graft law.