Balcomb: “Prosecutors’ Case Is Politically Driven”

Current case against Mother Han (82) portrayed as part of current Lee administration’s vendetta to destroy former governing party and its perceived supporters  

First part of extracts from a report by Dr. Michael Balcomb, President of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Europe and the Middle East, given at an international prayer meeting for Family Federation members on Zoom 3^rd December 2025. It is Dr. Balcomb’s personal report, not an official Family Federation document and has no legal significance. Slightly edited.

See also part 2: Likely Long Legal Battle Ahead for Mother Han

See also President’s Own Party Drawn into Lobbying Claims

See also Bail Hearing with Mother Han’s Spiritual Message

See also Trial Day 1: Mother Han Denies All Allegations

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

See also Complaint Filed Against Lead Special Prosecutor

I think you probably want to hear from me a little bit about the situation in Korea with True Mother. […] I want to emphasize this is my personal report. […]

I’m going to be as brief and factual as I can. There are four defendants in this case, True Mother, Jeong Won-ju (정원주), Yoon Yeong-ho (윤영호), former president of our international headquarters, and his wife, Lee Shin-ae (이신애).

Mother was represented by two major law firms, 15 attorneys, a pretty big team. The prosecutor has one special prosecutor and three assistants. […]

In any courtroom, the defendants identify themselves, the court advises them of their rights. One such right is to remain silent, and the other is to have or hope for a jury trial, which they all declined.

Then – again entirely typical – the prosecution lays out the overview of its charges. And the prosecutor wants to paint Mother as a criminal mastermind in a network of political intrigue and financial misconduct.

These charges, whether they have any basis in fact or not, are intended to prove that case. And there are six of them.

① The first one is illegal or improper donations to a member of Congress.

② Second, further contributions to many political figures, all of them in the party of the deposed president Yoon Suk-yeol (윤석열).

It’s important to note that because the current government is on a vendetta to destroy the former administration, and as you know, President Yoon is actually in the same detention center as True Mother.

③ And third, that also there were gifts to the former first lady intended to win favor. A few months ago, this was the headline story. Now it’s just one among many.

④ Four, that there’s been destruction of evidence, specifically accounting records.

⑤ Five, that payments to foreign politicians were made improperly, particularly in Senegal. Mind you, you remember that True Mother awarded the Sunhak Peace Prize to Macky Sall.

⑥ And finally, that there’s a culture of embezzlement in the Family Federation itself.

So those are the charges. None of them, of course, are dressed up as religious or spiritual things. The prosecutors’ goal is to paint this as the way everyone else behaves.

And in addition, two of the defendants were separately accused of personal misuse of money.

But the main point they want to make – and this is their final argument – is that these other people had roles, but Mother is the spider at the center of the web, the supreme authority. So that’s the kind of picture they want to paint of our True Mother.

And why? Well, they have to explain what they think are their motivations, which are, 1) to gain influence in the national assembly, and 2) to gain influence with the President. And they said they have phone calls and texts as evidence of this.

And then the prosecutor added an entirely gratuitous remark which was picked up by the media,

“Where did all this money come from? It came from members using their housing funds.”

That’s something particular to Korea. But an equivalent in Europe would be that the members took out loans against their houses and used that money – money they really didn’t have.

And then it was the turn for the defense to give an overall response. Mother‘s team presented a very different view of the case.

① First of all, that this doctrine or allegation that Mother is the mastermind who controls everything is neither factual, nor official teaching. And it’s unrealistic.

② Secondly, despite what they say, neither Father nor Mother ever advocated theocracy or religious rule of a nation.

And she’s never claimed that political leaders must obey her. What she has said is that politics and religion must become one. But this refers to cooperating rather than one dominating the other.

So the defense’s premise or main argument is,

“Look, this whole case is misguided. You are suggesting that this defendant, True Mother, has some overt, illegal political motivation, but she doesn’t. She’s not interested in any of those things. And finally, that if anything did take place that was improper, that it was the effort or the result of Dr. Yoon Yeong-ho‘s own actions.”

And then, there was a little more detail on the particular points. Basically, saying that these are not criminal acts at all.

And then the court gets to respond. After the prosecution makes their case – a general overview – and the defense makes its case, then the court had a few interesting comments.

Continued in part 2: Likely Long Legal Battle Ahead for Mother Han

See also Investigators Investigated: South Korean Crisis

See also President’s Own Party Drawn into Lobbying Claims

See also SKorea: Bribery Probe into Opposition Backfires

See also Lobbying Probe Risks Becoming a Witch Hunt

See also Bail Hearing with Mother Han’s Spiritual Message

See also Trial Day 1: Mother Han Denies All Allegations

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

See also Complaint Filed Against Lead Special Prosecutor

See also S. Korea: Federation Pledges Reform After Apology

Featured image above: Four long-term detainees at Seoul Detention Center. Illustrations by Grok xAI, December 2025.

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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