Bail Hearing with Mother Han’s Spiritual Message

At bail hearing 1st December, Mother Han (82) portrays her life not in politics, but in service to heaven and humanity as she seeks humane release from detention

On 1^st December 2025, a highly anticipated bail hearing unfolded at the Seoul Central District Court for Hak Ja Han (한학자) – also called Mother Han – the Co-Founder and longtime leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification – more commonly known as the Unification Church.

See also Trial Day 1: Mother Han Denies All Allegations

See also Balcomb: “Prosecutors’ Case Is Politically Driven”

See also: Likely Long Legal Battle Ahead for Mother Han

See also Asia Today Editorial: “Avoid Detention of Clergy!”

See also Complaint Filed Against Lead Special Prosecutor

See also Echoes of Communist Abuse in South Korea, 2025

Reporter Jang Hyeon-eun (장현은) wrote about the hearings for the Hankyoreh Shimbun, a large South Korean daily, in an article published 2^nd December which in English would carry the headline “Hak Ja Han at bail hearing: ‘I am the Mother of Peace […] I am not the person the special prosecutor describes’.”

Mother Han, now in her early eighties, has been detained since 22^nd September and was indicted on 10^th October by special prosecutors appointed by the current Lee administration for several alleged actions considered in breach of several South Korean laws. According to the Hankyoreh, prosecutors claim that she provided funds and valuable gifts to influential figures including First Lady Kim Keon-hee (김건희) and Rep. Kweon Seong-dong (권성동) of the People Power Party.

These actions, investigators argue, were intended to advance requests related to the Family Federation’s institutional interests. Against this backdrop, Mother Han used the opportunity offered at her bail hearing to deliver a personal, impassioned defense of both her intentions and her legacy.

Reporter Jang describes in his article how the 1^st December afternoon proceedings, presided over by Judge Woo In-seong (우인성) of Criminal Division 27 at the court, centered on Mother Han’s petition for release on health grounds. Her legal team emphasized the impracticality and potential harm of detaining an 82-year-old religious figure while she prepares her defense.

But the most striking portion of the session came when the court granted her the chance to speak. Seizing the moment, Mother Han framed herself not as a political actor embroiled in clandestine dealings, but as a lifelong religious leader devoted to realizing divine aspirations for peace and unity.

According to the Hankyoreh article, Hak Ja Han began her remarks by reflecting on her decades-long spiritual mission. She described herself as someone who has worked well into old age “with the dream of attending the Creator, our Heavenly Parent, here on earth.” Mother Han explained,

“The Creator’s dream for April 2025 was what is the very “principle of creation” (창조의 원칙) – to live on earth as the True Parent, embracing His/Her children. Because I know this, I resolved over the course of my 80-year life to build a palace (궁전) where the Creator could dwell, in order to fulfill that dream.”

Jang’s report emphasizes that throughout her statement, Mother Han stressed the exclusively religious and humanitarian focus of her work. She insisted that she has never been concerned with the political currents of South Korea, nor has she involved herself in partisan matters.

Instead, she described her life’s purpose as nurturing a global culture of peace: teaching adherents and peace-loving persons everywhere to pray for harmony, unity, and the creation of “one human family” oriented toward the will of Heaven. Her frequent references to herself as the “Mother of Peace” and “Holy Mother” were offered not as personal aggrandizement, she said, but as titles bestowed upon her by world leaders, religious figures, and scholars who recognize her efforts to promote reconciliation and shared humanity.

Mother Han energetically rejected the portrayal of her advanced by the special prosecutor, saying,

“I am not the kind of person the special prosecutor describes.”

She invited the court to visit the Cheon Jeong Temple – her residence and an important symbolic site for the Family Federation in Gapyeong – to see firsthand how she has lived and what she has built. Her appeal was both a plea for understanding and an implicit challenge to the narrative that her actions were politically or materially motivated.

Her attorney reinforced these themes, arguing that Mother Han’s health requires humane accommodation and warning the court against potential prejudice stemming from widespread skepticism of the Family Federation. Raising concerns about religious freedom and due process, the defense insisted that Mother Han’s constitutional rights must be protected, and that her detention risks undermining her ability to mount an effective and fair defense.

Overall, the hearing highlighted a dramatic clash between the state’s allegations of influence-peddling and Mother Han’s own account of a life devoted to spiritual mission. As the case proceeds, her dual role – as a religious matriarch to millions and a defendant in one of South Korea’s highest-profile political-religious trials – will remain at the center of national attention.

See also Trial Day 1: Mother Han Denies All Allegations

See also Lobbying Probe Risks Becoming a Witch Hunt

See also Balcomb: “Prosecutors’ Case Is Politically Driven”

See also: Likely Long Legal Battle Ahead for Mother Han

See also Asia Today Editorial: “Avoid Detention of Clergy!”

See also Complaint Filed Against Lead Special Prosecutor

See also Echoes of Communist Abuse in South Korea, 2025

See also President’s Own Party Drawn into Lobbying Claims

See also SKorea: Bribery Probe into Opposition Backfires

See also S. Korea: Federation Pledges Reform After Apology

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: Mother Han speking in Newark, New Jersey, USA 28th December 2019. Screenshot from live transmission by PeaceTV.

See also SKorea’s Polarization Shapes Views of Mother Han

See also Inside the Detention Center: A 10-Minute Visit

See also Health Concerns: 82-Year-Old Pretrial Detainee

See also In Tiny Solitary Cell: Irreversible Harm Caused

See also Mother Han Briefly Released for Medical Reasons

See also Message of Religious Unity from Detention Cell

See also Over 50 Days in Vigil Outside Detention Center

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