Unification Church-backed project in Cambodia investigated for alleged corruption tied to previous gov't
Published: 13 Jan. 2026, 08:00
Updated: 13 Jan. 2026, 08:03
![Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church's global headquarters, left, meets then-Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Cambodia in December 2022. Yun is believed to have obtained Cambodian citizenship and a passport from senior government officials around that time. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/4c5ff9d0-4a15-4749-b234-e3dd3dce1588.jpg)
Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church's global headquarters, left, meets then-Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Cambodia in December 2022. Yun is believed to have obtained Cambodian citizenship and a passport from senior government officials around that time. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
A development project in Cambodia promoted by the Unification Church is facing a criminal investigation after evidence emerged suggesting it was used to advance the personal business interests of a former senior church official with close ties to figures in Korea’s previous administration.
Investigators have identified evidence suggesting that the project promoted by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, commonly known as the Unification Church, was effectively privatized by Yun Young-ho, the former head of the church's global headquarters. Yun was indicted and detained last year on charges including bribery, illegal lobbying and embezzlement of church funds.
Prosecutors suspect that Yun relied on close ties with figures linked to the ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to pursue the project even after church leadership withdrew its support.
According to audio recordings obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo and testimony given to prosecutors, Yun began promoting multiple development initiatives in Cambodia in the second half of 2021. Among them was the Mekong Peace Park project, which proposed transforming an island in Cambodia’s Mekong River into a park and constructing an Asia-Pacific regional headquarters for the church.
References to the project appear repeatedly in a special report submitted on Oct. 23, 2021, to “True Mother,” an internal title for church leader Han Hak-ja, indicating that the initiative was initially framed as a church-level undertaking.
'I met all the Yoon insiders'
![This composite image shows People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, left, and Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/3a7b6e72-41b9-4356-8176-9adfd0aaa8c0.jpg)
This composite image shows People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, left, and Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja [YONHAP]
Prosecutors believe the Cambodia project also motivated Yun’s efforts to cultivate ties with Korea’s political leadership. Investigators allege that Yun sought to lobby former first lady Kim Keon Hee by delivering luxury gifts, including a high-end necklace and handbag, through associate Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman also known as Geon Jin.
In one recorded conversation submitted to the court by a special counsel team investigating Kim, Yun described his political reach to an associate, saying, “I had enormous expectations for the Korean administration, and met all the Yoon insiders."
"Even the first lady and President Yoon, too. Things could have happened," Yun is heard saying.
The conversation likely took place around the time Han blocked further church involvement in the Cambodia project.
In December 2022, Yun acquired Cambodian citizenship, a move allegedly intended to secure land ownership rights. Several church officials said that Yun personally received his citizenship and passport in Cambodia.
“I was told that Prime Minister Hun Sen personally appealed to the king, and the foreign minister handed it directly to Yun," one church official familiar with the matter told the JoongAng Ilbo. Hun Sen served as prime minister until resigning in 2023.
Private pursuit after resignation
After stepping down as the global headquarters chief in May 2023, Yun continued to pursue the Cambodia development projects privately, according to text messages obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo. Messages he sent to Jeon between June and July 2024 included statements such as “I have a major undertaking to discuss with [you]” and “Cambodia is ripening.”
Later that summer, Yun asked a law firm introduced by Jeon to help establish a special-purpose company to advance the project. Yun also told investigators that he explored potential participation by major Korean construction firms, including Posco E&C and Daewoo Engineering & Construction, and said he met with an executive from one of the companies to discuss possible involvement.
In April 2024, Yun told the former president of Sunwon Construction, a church-affiliated builder, “A government-private joint development model is the best option.”
The following month, Cambodia doubled the ceiling for loans available from Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund, from $1.5 billion to $3 billion.
Election funding and casino proposal
![A Chinese-run casino in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, is shown in this screen capture from the Channel NewsAsia website. Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, allegedly discussed a casino business in Cambodia with his sister-in-law after stepping down from his post. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/18ad61b6-247d-44ae-8808-5c96370728d4.jpg)
A Chinese-run casino in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, is shown in this screen capture from the Channel NewsAsia website. Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, allegedly discussed a casino business in Cambodia with his sister-in-law after stepping down from his post. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Prosecutors have also received testimony suggesting that Yun continued to pursue the project privately to recover funds allegedly used to support Cambodia’s July 2023 general election, after the church halted its official involvement.
According to testimony, church officials were offered a deal under which a $1 million contribution to election funding would be rewarded with a casino license and 90 years of operating rights for a development project near Sihanoukville, a coastal port city in Cambodia.
A person who handled election funding told prosecutors that Cambodian counterparts had proposed giving part of the development project to Yun, prompting him to seek personal funds to support the election. The person added that the Universal Peace Federation, a nongovernmental organization started by the founders of the Unification Church, transferred $750,000 to its Cambodia chapter ahead of the July 2023 election.
Prosecutors also reviewed conversations between Yun and his sister-in-law that suggest he pursued a casino business in Cambodia separate from the Mekong Peace Park project.
Yun did not deny seeking to establish the special-purpose company.
“On a personal level, I was helping the Mekong Peace Park project in the same way I did while serving as global headquarters chief,” he said in a statement to investigators.
“My role and goal stopped at setting up the special-purpose company and drafting a master plan. I did not aim to carry out development using actual development rights," he added.
Allegations involving church funds
![Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee attend a dinner with Korean expatriates at a hotel in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022. Kim wears a Graff necklace she allegedly received from the Unification Church as a bribe. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/a89a9797-9dd5-417e-9414-f680d68fe45b.jpg)
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee attend a dinner with Korean expatriates at a hotel in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022. Kim wears a Graff necklace she allegedly received from the Unification Church as a bribe. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Investigators are also examining whether Yun’s wife, identified by the surname Lee, formerly the global headquarters finance director, misappropriated church funds for personal expenses.
Lee allegedly purchased luxury goods, including Chanel handbags intended as gifts for former first lady Kim, using her personal credit card before seeking reimbursement from church funds, according to a criminal complaint filed last August. Lee is also accused of purchasing a Graff necklace using gift certificates and later claiming compensation from the organization. She faces allegations including embezzlement and fraud.
The complaint further alleges that around January 2022, when Rep. Kwon Seong-dong of the People Power Party allegedly received 100 million won ($68,200) from the church, Lee attempted to withdraw the same amount in new banknotes.
Between 2021 and 2023, Lee used church funds to purchase personal items, including children’s clothing, luxury bags, golf equipment, cookware, shampoo and bedding, according to the complaint. She allegedly misappropriated a total amount of 2.1 billion won. The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency is currently investigating the case.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SON SUNG-BAE, JEONG JIN-HO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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