Mother Han: Guilty Without Proof?

Pointing out the dangerous politics behind South Korea’s weaponization of justice, Introvigne concludes that Mother Han’s guilty verdict is a miscarriage of justice

The recent verdict by the Seoul Central District Court sentencing 83-year-old Hak Ja Han (한학자), leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), to two years in prison has sent shockwaves through the international human rights community. While a two-year sentence may appear “lenient” compared to the staggering thirteen years demanded by the prosecution, a closer analysis of the case reveals a deeply troubling reality.

See also International Outcry Over Hak Ja Han (83) Verdict

See also Hak Ja Han: A Nobel Case for Courage and Peace

See also Mother Han’s Legal War: 2 Years of Uncertainty

See also Mother Han Seeking Bail and Release Extension

See also Tax Rules Put Overseas Religious Work at Risk

According to Dr. Massimo Introvigne, one of the world’s leading scholars on new religious movements and a prominent activist for religious freedom, this trial is not a sober application of the law. Instead, it represents a politically motivated campaign of retaliation masquerading as judicial process, built on an astonishing absence of concrete proof.

Writing for Bitter Winter on 31^st August 2026, Dr. Introvigne positions his publication with unwavering clarity: Hak Ja Han (한학자) – also referred to as Mother Han – is innocent and should have been acquitted. The specific case decided by the court centers on allegations that she authorized high-value gifts – specifically a Chanel handbag and a diamond necklace – to a former First Lady, alongside claims of illegal financial support to politicians.

Introvigne systematically dismantles the prosecution’s narrative, pointing out that the entire case rests precariously on the testimony of a single former Family Federation executive who was expelled from the movement. This star witness possesses a glaring conflict of interest, having altered his timeline and narrative multiple times to mirror the prosecutors’ shifting legal theories. Nothing in the official record demonstrates that Mother Han ordered, approved, or was even aware of the rogue executive’s actions.

Furthermore, the financial scope of the allegations undermines the prosecution’s grand conspiracy theory. The gifts and donations total less than $250,000 – an amount Introvigne notes is roughly equivalent to a modest apartment in Seoul. The notion that national and international political structures could be bought for such a sum is absurd. The massive discrepancy between the prosecutor’s 13-year demand and the actual evidence suggests that the state’s primary objective was not justice, but the systemic destruction of the Family Federation.

To understand why this ruling is so dangerous, one must look at the broader context provided in the article. Introvigne notes that Mother Han’s prosecution is part of a wider, systemic campaign by South Korean authorities against conservative and non-traditional religious groups. He explicitly points to the past harassment and arrests of other religious figures, such as Pastor Son Hyun-bo (손현보) of Segyero Church (세계로교회) and Chairman Lee Man-hee (95 – 이만희) of Shincheonji [See editor’s note below].

Segyero Church is a prominent conservative Presbyterian church led by Pastor Son Hyun-bo. It gained national attention for its fierce resistance to government overreach, particularly regarding strict state mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to legal standoffs over the right to assembly and worship.

Shincheonji (Shincheonji Church of Jesus) [See editor’s note below] is a highly visible new religious movement founded by Lee Man-hee. The group faced intense legal and social scapegoating by South Korean authorities, who used expansive interpretations of the law to arrest its leadership and pressure its members.

By drawing parallels to Segyero Church and Shincheonji, Introvigne demonstrates that South Korean prosecutors are utilizing highly elastic interpretations of election and contribution laws to effectively criminalize the normal civic participation of religious believers.

A Dangerous Precedent for Global Religious Liberty

The weaponization of the judicial system to target religious minorities has international ramifications. Introvigne highlights a disturbing geopolitical undercurrent: the anti-cult campaigns inside South Korea do not exist in a vacuum. They are deeply intertwined with Japanese anti-cult organizations and have ideological ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), both of which seek to dismantle these movements.

The trial of Mother Han in South Korea is heavily influenced by cross-border pressures, specifically the aggressive anti-cult movement in Japan following the 2022 assassination of Shinzo Abe and the totalitarian Xie Jiao doctrine exported by the Chinese Communist Party.

Xie Jiao (邪教) refers to organizations promoting “heterodox teachings”. While often officially translated by China as “evil cults,” the doctrine is a legal and political designation used since imperial times to ban religious movements. The Chinese Communist Party applies this label to groups that operate outside state control, deify leaders, or threaten social stability. According to article 300 of the Chinese Criminal Code, it is dealt with as a crime to be an active participant in a xie jiao.

These external ideological and political forces have pushed the left-leaning Lee Jae-myung (이재명) administration to adopt punitive legal measures against the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, thus threatening domestic religious pluralism.

When a democratic nation like South Korea allows its prosecutors to pursue special missions against “heretical cults” using fragile, contradictory testimony, the rule of law itself is compromised. The court’s decision to grant a two-year sentence rather than thirteen may look like a compromise, but as Introvigne rightly asserts, saving the prosecution’s face at the expense of an innocent person’s freedom is a miscarriage of justice.

Ultimately, the case against Mother Han is a bellwether for the state of democracy in South Korea. When state actors treat religious communities as political adversaries rather than citizens with protected rights, religious freedom ceases to be a guaranteed liberty and instead becomes a privilege subject to the whims of the ruling political class.

See also International Outcry Over Hak Ja Han (83) Verdict

See also Hak Ja Han: A Nobel Case for Courage and Peace

See also Mother Han’s Legal War: 2 Years of Uncertainty

See also Mother Han Seeking Bail and Release Extension

See also Tax Rules Put Overseas Religious Work at Risk

See also No Charges Over Family Federation Probe Delay

See also States Weaponizing the Law in War on Faiths

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: Dr. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian scholar specializing in the sociology of religion. He founded and serves as managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions, an international network of academics focused on the study of new religious movements. He has authored around 70 books and over 100 scholarly articles in this field. Here, speaking in Geneva, Switzerland 16^th June 2025. Screenshot from video by UPF. Image resolution improved by Grok xAI.

[Editor’s note: Shincheonji, officially known as Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, is a new religious movement founded in South Korea in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who claims to be the promised pastor mentioned in the Bible’s Book of Revelation.

Shincheonji teaches that the Book of Revelation is being fulfilled through its church and that Lee Man-hee has received divine revelation to interpret it. He teaches that South Korea is the location where the prophecies of the Book of Revelation are actively playing out in real-time, making it the epicenter of the final harvest. Shincheonji focuses on filling the literal 144,000 slots of the 12 Tribes mentioned in Revelation. Once this number of truly sealed, flawless believers is completed, they believe they will rule as kings and priests over the rest of humanity.]

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