Mother Han Delivers 10-Minute Court Statement

Court appearance offers rare glimpse of Mother Han’s defense as she makes a short court statement including a discussion of religious themes and Family Federation teachings

A second report, by reporter Lee Jin-min (이진민), on the 12^th June 2026 court hearing involving Family Federation leader Hak Ja Han (한학자) – also called Mother Han – was published the same day by the South Korean online newspaper OhmyNews. Whereas the previous report published here focused primarily on Mother Han‘s refusal to testify and her rejection of allegations involving political donations and gifts, the OhmyNews account provides a more detailed description of what took place inside the courtroom and sheds additional light on the exchanges between Hak Ja Han, prosecutors, and lawyers representing former Family Federation executive Yoon Yeong-ho (윤영호).

See also Defense Challenges Core Claims of Indictment

See also Burden of Successor: Founders and Their Heirs

See also Mother Han Trial Set to Conclude on 10th July

See also 3rd Extension of Mother Han’s Medical Release

See also Shocking Pretrial Detention of Faith Leader (95)

According to the report, Mother Han appeared before the 27^th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court not as a defendant but as a witness in the ongoing proceedings involving herself, Yoon, and other former Family Federation officials. As noted by other media outlets, she arrived in a wheelchair and required assistance during the oath procedure. However, OhmyNews places particular emphasis on what happened immediately after the oath was completed.

Rather than proceeding directly to questioning, Mother Han reportedly requested permission from the presiding judge to make a statement of her own. The judge allowed her to speak, and she then spent approximately ten minutes delivering what the article characterizes as a largely uninterrupted personal declaration. During this period, she not only repeated her denial of allegations that she had provided money to conservative politician Kweon Seong-dong (권성동) or gifts to former First Lady Kim Keon-hee (김건희), but also expanded on her view of how the case had arisen.

According to the report, Mother Han argued that she had come to be involved in the proceedings because of actions taken by Yoon Yeong-ho, a former senior official whom she had previously trusted. She accused him of having created numerous false accounts while acting in the name of both the Family Federation and its headquarters. In contrast to some other reports that summarized this accusation briefly, OhmyNews highlights it as a central theme of her statement.

The report also notes that Mother Han‘s statement was not limited to the allegations currently before the court. After addressing the accusations, she reportedly moved into a discussion of religious themes and Family Federation teachings. According to OhmyNews, she spoke about her lifelong mission to realize here on earth what she described as the dream of the Heavenly Parent, a theological concept central to Family Federation doctrine. This portion of her remarks occupied a significant part of the approximately ten-minute statement and distinguished her appearance from a conventional witness examination.

Another aspect emphasized by the article is the atmosphere inside the courtroom during Mother Han‘s remarks. While she was speaking, Yoon Yeong-ho was seated behind the witness stand in the defendants’ section. The report describes him as sitting silently and looking straight ahead while Mother Han attributed responsibility for the controversy to him. The article does not indicate that Yoon reacted publicly to her comments during the hearing.

Following her statement, the proceeding moved into questioning by Yoon‘s legal team. It is here that OhmyNews provides some of its most distinctive details. According to the report, defense lawyers confronted Mother Han with statements she had allegedly made during earlier interviews conducted by special prosecutors. They reportedly suggested that her previous remarks had included acknowledgements that gifts had been provided to political figures, not only to Kim Keon-hee (김건희) but to others as well. They also questioned her regarding previous comments concerning the authority exercised by Yoon within the Family Federation hierarchy.

The defense further raised an issue that received little attention elsewhere. According to the report, Yoon‘s attorneys referred to an alleged written statement from 2025 in which Yoon had supposedly been asked to affirm that Mother Han had not directly ordered any wrongdoing and had merely granted approval after the fact. One attorney reportedly stated that he had personally reviewed the document and repeatedly asked Hak Ja Han whether she had any knowledge of it. She declined to respond, maintaining her refusal to testify.

The OhmyNews report additionally records several moments in which Mother Han departed from her otherwise consistent silence. During questioning by the special prosecution team, she briefly answered inquiries concerning political figures in Senegal and Nepal. Asked about her relationship with such individuals, she reportedly replied that they knew her as the “Mother of Peace”, a title often associated with her international activities.

Referring specifically to Macky Sall, Senegalese president 2012-2024, she said that she had sought to help Africa and had resolved to do whatever she could for that purpose.

However, when prosecutors attempted to connect these relationships to allegations involving election-related financial support, Mother Han either denied providing such assistance or returned to her refusal to testify. When asked whether she had ever been informed that supporting election campaigns in Senegal could be illegal, she reportedly answered in the negative and declined further comment. She similarly denied having provided election funds to political leaders in either Senegal or Nepal.

The OhmyNews account complements earlier reporting by offering a fuller picture of Mother Han‘s conduct and statements during the 12^th June hearing itself. Rather than focusing primarily on the underlying allegations, the article highlights her attempt to frame the controversy as the result of actions by a former associate, her willingness to discuss religious and international activities, and her continued refusal to engage substantively with many of the specific questions posed by both prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday 19^th June.

See also Defense Challenges Core Claims of Indictment

See also Burden of Successor: Founders and Their Heirs

See also Mother Han Trial Set to Conclude on 10th July

See also 3rd Extension of Mother Han’s Medical Release

See also Shocking Pretrial Detention of Faith Leader (95)

See also Statement Ahead of Final Hearing for Mother Han

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: Hak Ja Han, aka. Mother Han, in Gapyeong, South Korea in 2025. Photo: Screenshot from video by FFWPU, improved for higher resolution and sharpness by Grok xAI, 13th June 2026. 

Related to delivering court statement: Religion Between Engagement and Withdrawal

And also related to delivering court statement: State Failure and Non-State Peace Projects

More, related to delivering court statement: Korea: Can Religion and Politics Be Disentangled?

Also related to delivering court statement: A 10-Minute Visit to Mother Han in Detention

Even more, related to delivering court statement: Denying Allegations: Hak Ja Han (82) in Inquiry

Also related to delivering court statement: SKorean Court’s Sharp Criticism of Prosecutors

And also related to delivering court statement: Detention: Harsh Cell Conditions Spark Outcry

More, related to delivering court statement: Ugly: Arrest Warrant Sought for Hak Ja Han (82)

And more, related to delivering court statement: Critics Warn of “Authoritarian Drift” in SKorea

Even more, related to delivering court statement: Court Decision to Prolong Detention Condemned

Still more, related to delivering court statement: Co-Founder, 82, Questioned 9 Hours by Prosecutors

Also related to delivering court statement: Democratic Party’s Assault on Family Federation

And even more, related to delivering court statement: Mother Han (82) in Poor Health in Damp, Cold Cell

And still more, related to delivering court statement: Korean Crisis: “True Democracy Must Serve Heaven”

And yet more, related to delivering court statement: Faith Leaders Protest State Assault on Religion

And more, related to delivering court statement: Trump Raises Alarm Over Church Raids in Korea

Even more, related to delivering court statement: Mike Pompeo Calls Probe of Co-Founder “Lawfare”

Still more, related to delivering court statement:  Korean Faith Crackdown: USA Urged to Confront It

Yet more, related to delivering court statement: Korean Bribery Scandal: Media Clears Federation

And also related to delivering court statement: Raids Blur Line Between Justice and Politics

More, related to delivering court statement: Heavy-Handed Raid on Sacred Sites Condemned