New Case: Claims of Political Mobilization

FFWPU leadership faces new case of political influence claims with 2000 members allegedly having been mobilized

Nate News, the South Korean digital news aggregation service, reported on 21^st August on a new chapter in South Korea’s extensive investigations into alleged political influence-peddling involving religious organizations and figures from the country’s former conservative administration. On 21^st August, the Seoul Central District Court opens the first full trial of Family Federation leader Hak Ja Han (한학자), former First Lady Kim Keon-hee (김건희), and several others over an alleged effort to recruit Family Federation members en masse into the conservative People Power Party (PPP).

See also 2026 Mass Enrollment Case: Evidence Under Fire

See also S Korea’s Special Prosecutors: A Political Tool?

The case is part of a much wider series of investigations and prosecutions that have followed the political upheaval surrounding former President Yoon Suk-yeol (윤석열), his wife Kim Keon-hee (김건희), and the collapse of the previous conservative administration. Several special prosecutor teams have been appointed by the current left-leaning Lee Jae-myung (이재명) administration to investigate allegations involving the former president, his wife, political figures and alleged links between politicians and religious organizations.

The investigations have resulted in numerous indictments and court proceedings. Yonhap News, for example, in a report 26^th June, records that the special prosecutor investigating Kim Keon-hee (김건희) eventually indicted 66 people before its investigation ended in December 2025.

The particular case beginning on 21^st August concerns alleged violations of South Korea’s Political Parties Act. The prosecution’s central allegation is that members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), in Korea also known as Unificationism (통일교), were mobilized to join the People Power Party in large numbers in connection with the party’s 2023 national convention.

The article published by Nate News on 21^st August focused on the allegations and interpretation of the prosecution. The claims described are therefore allegations, not established facts, and the defendants have the opportunity to contest them during the trial.

What is the prosecution alleging?

According to the prosecution’s case as reported by Nate News, former First Lady Kim Keon-hee (김건희) allegedly worked with a figure known as Jeon Seong-bae (전성배), sometimes referred to in Korean media as the “Geonjin shaman”. They allegedly approached Yoon Yeong-ho (윤영호), then director-general of the Family Federation‘s World Headquarters, and sought the organized recruitment of members of the religious organization into the PPP.

The alleged purpose, according to the special prosecutor, was to influence the outcome of the party’s 2023 national convention. The prosecution believes that approximately 2,000 Family Federation members were encouraged to join the PPP so that they could participate in the selection of party leadership and support a candidate favorable to former President Yoon.

The prosecution further alleges that this political support was connected to promises of benefits for the Family Federation. These allegedly included political and policy assistance on issues important to the organization and the provision of proportional-representation seats in the National Assembly.

One of the political figures mentioned in connection with these allegations is Kweon Seong-dong (권성동), then a prominent People Power Party lawmaker, whose candidacy for party leader Kim Keon-hee (김건희) allegedly sought to support.

Hak Ja Han’s alleged role

The charges against Hak Ja Han (한학자) – also called Mother Han – concern a somewhat earlier stage of the alleged scheme.

According to the prosecution, in November 2022 she allegedly conspired with senior Family Federation officials, including former chief of staff Jeong Won-ju (정원주) and former World Headquarters director-general Yoon Yeong-ho (윤영호), to arrange for Family Federation members to join the People Power Party.

The prosecution therefore views the alleged mass membership campaign as part of a broader effort by the Family Federation leadership to develop political influence and secure favorable treatment from politicians.

Mother Han and the other defendants, however, should not be treated as having been found guilty merely because they have been indicted. The 21^st August hearing is the beginning of the substantive trial, in which the prosecution’s allegations will be tested against the evidence and the defense’s arguments.

Why the case matters

The case is particularly significant because it brings together two highly controversial issues in contemporary South Korean politics: the alleged use of religious networks for political purposes and the government’s increasingly forceful investigation of such activities.

As reported by The Japan Times on 10^th December 2025, President Lee Jae-myung (이재명) has called for investigations into suspected links between religious organizations and politicians and has urged consideration of measures against religious groups that improperly intervene in politics. The Family Federation has consequently found itself at the center of an unusually intense political and legal controversy.

The 21^st August proceedings should therefore not be viewed in isolation. They form part of a larger confrontation involving the former conservative political establishment, the current administration’s special-prosecutor investigations, and allegations concerning the political activities of religious organizations.

For the Family Federation, the central issue is not simply whether individual members participated in political activities. The crucial legal question is whether the prosecution can prove that Mother Han personally participated in an unlawful scheme to manipulate party membership and, if so, what responsibility can legitimately be attributed to her.

The court will ultimately have to distinguish between political allegations, organizational activities and individually provable criminal responsibility.

That distinction will be particularly important as the case moves forward.

See also 2026 Mass Enrollment Case: Evidence Under Fire

See also S Korea’s Special Prosecutors: A Political Tool?

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: Alleged political mobilization. Illustration: ChatGPT, August 2026.

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