Former Unification Church official gets prison time in bribery case linked to ex-first lady, PPP lawmaker
Published: 28 Jan. 2026, 18:12
![Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, appears at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on July 30, 2025, for a hearing on his arrest warrant. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/28/8955acb0-8478-4c2e-9e4c-37cef0c6a584.jpg)
Yun Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters, appears at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on July 30, 2025, for a hearing on his arrest warrant. [YONHAP]
Yun Young-ho, a former Unification Church official, was sentenced to prison on Wednesday in a case involving alleged favors sought from former first lady Kim Keon Hee and conservative People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kweon Seong-dong.
The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday sentenced Yun to one year and two months in prison on charges including occupational embezzlement, violations of the Political Funds Act and violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
The court sentenced him to eight months for the Political Funds Act violation and six months for the embezzlement and graft charges.
However, the court dismissed the charge that Yun obtained police investigation information related to Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja’s alleged overseas gambling and then destroyed evidence, saying it did not fall within the scope of the special counsel’s investigation mandate.
Special Counsel Min Joong-ki’s team previously sought a four-year prison term for Yun on Dec. 10.
“The defendant, backed by the Unification Church’s financial resources, provided large sums of money and valuables to [former first lady] Kim Keon Hee, who was among the president’s closest associates, and Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, and embezzled church funds in the process,” the court said. “Regardless of whether the solicitations were realized, the offenses themselves undermined public trust in the fair execution of state policy.”
The court said it considered mitigating factors, including that Yun testified truthfully as a witness in related proceedings and that the offenses were committed to expand the church’s influence rather than for personal gain.
![People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong attends a hearing on allegations that he received illegal political funds from the Unification Church, at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Nov. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/28/06b4095d-951a-425f-9099-d45ac629a6d9.jpg)
People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong attends a hearing on allegations that he received illegal political funds from the Unification Church, at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Nov. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Yun was accused of repeatedly delivering luxury items, including a Graff diamond necklace and Chanel bags, to Kim through Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman known as Geon Jin.
Prosecutors said Yun provided the items to seek help with church-related issues, including support for a Mekong River development project in Cambodia, the acquisition of YTN, hosting a United Nations fifth office in Korea and invitations to the presidential inauguration.
The court also found Yun guilty of violating the Political Funds Act by handing 100 million won ($70,000) in cash to PPP Rep. Kweon Seong-dong. Kweon was handed a two-year prison sentence.
The special counsel team indicted Yun on charges that he met Kweon on Jan. 5, 2022, at a Chinese restaurant in Yeouido, western Seoul, and delivered the cash. The court said it acknowledged the evidentiary value of materials, including entries in Yun’s diary, KakaoTalk messages and photographs taken by a woman surnamed Lee, Yun’s wife, and found him guilty.
A KakaoTalk message Yun sent to Kweon immediately after the meeting also supported the conviction. “This is a small token. Please make good use of what I gave you today for candidate Yoon Suk Yeol,” Yun wrote.
![Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, center, is seen during the final hearing on charges of violating the Capital Market Act held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Dec. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/28/35e55ef1-ee0c-4b2b-839b-9b76551a49c9.jpg)
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, center, is seen during the final hearing on charges of violating the Capital Market Act held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Dec. 3, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
A photo taken on Jan. 5, 2022, by Lee, a former finance bureau chief of the Unification Church, showing 100 million won packaged for delivery, was also accepted as evidence.
Among the charges brought by the special counsel, the court said the allegation that Yun manipulated an accounting program to prepare for an investigation into overseas gambling in the United States fell outside the scope of the special counsel’s mandate. The court dismissed that count, finding the indictment for destruction of evidence invalid.
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 HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)