Special prosecutor raids unification church amid allegations involving first lady Kim geon-hee. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A special investigation team probing allegations against Kim Keon-hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, carried out a sweeping raid Friday on key facilities of the Unification Church, triggering a dramatic protest from its followers.
According to reports by MBC and JTBC, the raid targeted the Cheon Jeong Gung headquarters in Gapyeong County—believed to be the residence of Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja—as well as the church’s national offices in Seoul.
The investigation, led by independent counsel Min Jung-ki, is focused on allegations that Kim received luxury gifts and favors through a controversial shaman figure known as “Geonjin Beopsa,” whose real name is Jeon Seong-bae.
The search was met with fierce resistance. Over 100 church members, dressed in coordinated white shirts emblazoned with “Holy Mother Han,” gathered outside the Gapyeong compound in prayerful protest. Many were seen crying, shaking, and singing hymns in the rain, kneeling and pounding the ground in a display of emotional devotion.
The Unification Church venerates founder Moon Sun-myung as the messiah and Han as a divine figure—a view that has led mainstream Protestant denominations in Korea to label it a heretical sect.
According to the search warrant, both Kim and Jeon are named as suspects in alleged violations of the Anti-Graft Act and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Followers of unification church protest raid, chanting and weeping in ‘Holy Mother’ shirts. (Image from MBC’s official YouTube channel)
Investigators believe Jeon received expensive items—including a Graf diamond necklace and a Chanel handbag—worth tens of millions of won, from a Unification Church official in exchange for promises to influence development projects, secure an invitation to the 2022 presidential inauguration, and facilitate the YTN media acquisition. The gifts were allegedly passed on to Kim.
The investigation is also exploring deeper ties between the Unification Church and Yoon’s inner political circle, known in local media as the “Yoon core.”
Prosecutors have uncovered text messages from late 2022 in which Jeon and former church executive Yoon [surname withheld] discussed political support for lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong. Authorities are also reviewing claims that Yoon’s aides helped suppress an overseas gambling investigation involving church executives.
As the scandal widens, the special prosecutor’s team is expected to intensify scrutiny of alleged influence peddling and illicit exchanges at the intersection of religion, politics, and power.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
