Han Hak-ja, the widow and successor of the conservative church’s founder, was convicted of financial dealings related to a former president and first lady, who are also imprisoned.
A South Korean court on Monday sentenced Han Hak-ja, the widow and successor of the Unification Church’s founder, to two years in prison, after convicting her of making illegal political donations and bribing a former first lady.
Known to her global followers as “True Mother,” Ms. Han, 83, has led the Unification Church since her husband, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, died in 2012 at age 92. He was a self-proclaimed messiah who built his church — officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification — into an international movement preaching conservative family values.
Ms. Han’s sentencing followed her arrest last September amid a sweeping criminal investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
Mr. Yoon is serving a life sentence after a court ruled that his brief imposition of martial law in late 2024 constituted an act of insurrection. Ms. Kim has been sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison on multiple charges, including stock price manipulation, accepting bribes in exchange for lining up government jobs and giving political favors.
In its ruling on Monday, a three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court convicted Ms. Han of giving Ms. Kim luxury gifts worth 83 million won, or about $60,000 — including a diamond necklace and two Chanel bags — after Mr. Yoon’s election.
The bribes were funneled through a senior Unification Church official, Yoon Young-ho, who is already serving an 18-month prison sentence for his involvement in the episode, prosecutors said. On Monday, the court added six months to his sentence, citing additional violations of the law governing political donations.
