SEOUL: The leader of the Unification Church, Han Hak-ja, appeared for questioning by prosecutors on Wednesday over alleged involvement in bribing the wife of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as part of a criminal probe into the former first couple.
Han declined to answer questions from reporters about the allegations as she arrived at the office of the special prosecutor.
“I’ve been unwell,” she said, when asked why she had chosen to respond to questioning, after refusing earlier summons.
Han, who is called “True Mother” by followers, is the widow of Unification Church founder Moon Sun-myung, who died in 2012.
Han was assisted by aides as she stepped out of the car and walked slowly through a throng of reporters and security.
A church official shouted “Mother, hang in there,” as Han made her way inside the prosecutors’ office.
An ambulance arranged by Han was on standby while she was interrogated, according to the special prosecutor’s team.
The special prosecutor has indicted former First Lady Kim Keon Hee for bribery and other charges in a widening probe into several charges of wrongdoing by her before and during Yoon’s presidency. Kim has been imprisoned as part of the probe.
Han has been accused of instructing the religious group to bribe the former first lady and Kweon Seong-dong, a veteran lawmaker and close confidante of Yoon. Han has denied the allegations.
Kweon from the conservative People Power Party was detained on Wednesday over concerns he could destroy evidence, prosecutors said. Kweon has denied that he took bribes from the church.
Kim Hyong Kun, deputy special prosecutor, told reporters on Wednesday that Han did not exercise her right to remain silent and answered questions well related to allegations of violating political funding and anti-graft laws.
The prosecutors were not currently considering issuing an arrest warrant for Han, since she had come in for questioning, Kim said.
Yoon, who is also in detention, is on trial over insurrection charges levelled against him by a separate special prosecutor related to his botched bid to declare martial law.
Kim is accused of receiving bribes worth 80 million won ($57,958) that include two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace from an official at the Unification Church in return for using her influence to help the church’s business interests.
Kim’s lawyers have denied the allegations against her, including over her receiving gifts.
Han has called the allegations against her “false information.”
The official from the church that prosecutors say was behind the bribery has been arrested and indicted on charges including violating anti-graft laws.
The Unification Church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said previously it was “deeply regrettable” that it failed to prevent the misconduct of a former senior official, but denied any involvement in the case.
Unification Church leader questioned in ex-South Korea first lady investigation
https://arab.news/jznah
Unification Church leader questioned in ex-South Korea first lady investigation
- Han Hak-ja questioned over bribery allegations involving former First Lady Kim Keon Hee
- Lawmaker detained over evidence destruction concerns, denies bribery
Bangladesh arrests journalist for ‘anti-state activities’
DHAKA: Bangladesh police on Monday said they had arrested a veteran journalist for alleged “anti-state activities,” accused of promoting the banned party of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The arrest, which comes ahead of key elections in February, the first vote since the student-led uprising last year that overthrew the autocratic government of Hasina and her Awami League, sparked concerns from a key rights group.
Anis Alamgir was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act along with three others, accused of spreading propaganda in talk shows and social media posts, and conspiring to rehabilitate the Awami League.
The interim government banned Hasina’s Awami League in May under amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act — a move Human Rights Watch condemned as “draconian.”
“Anis Alamgir has been arrested on accusations of conspiring against the state,” said Kazi Mohammad Rafiq, officer-in-charge of Uttara West police station in the capital Dhaka.
Three others were named in police documents alongside Alamgir, including actress Meher Afroz Shaon.
Rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra condemned the arrest.
“Using a law, originally enacted to prevent terrorist activities, against freedom of expression and journalism is against the fundamental principles of a democratic state,” it said in a statement.
“It’s an attack on freedom of expression.”
Press freedom in Bangladesh has long been under threat, and Hasina’s tenure was marked as one of the worst periods for media freedom in the South Asian nation.
Bangladesh ranks 149 out of 180 countries for press freedom in 2025, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), up from 165 a year before.
But RSF also notes that over 130 journalists were subjected to “unfounded judicial proceedings” and five detained, in the “political purge that followed the fall of Sheikh Hasina.”
Those listed as detained pending trial are Ekattor TV’s Farzana Rupa, Shakil Ahmad and Mozammel Babu, as well as freelancer Shahriar Kabir and Shyamal Dutta, editor of Bhorer Kagoj newspaper.
