Former Unification Church Leader Arrested Over Allegations of Bribery

Yoon Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church's global headquarters, was arrested on July 30, 2025, for allegedly attempting to bribe Kim Geon-hee, the wife of South Korea's president, with expensive gifts. The Seoul Central District Court's Chief Judge Jeong Jae-wook conducted a detention hearing for Yoon, lasting about an hour and twenty minutes, before issuing a warrant due to concerns over potential evidence tampering and flight risk. The special prosecutor's office had requested Yoon's arrest warrant on July 25 as part of an investigation into various allegations surrounding Kim Geon-hee.

Yoon is accused of purchasing luxury items, including a 'Graph' diamond necklace worth approximately 60 million KRW and two Chanel handbags valued at around 10 million KRW each, along with other gifts, to influence Kim regarding Unification Church matters between April and July 2022.

After initially failing to appear for questioning on July 20, Yoon attended a second summons on July 22, where he admitted to giving the luxury items to Jeon Seong-bae, a figure linked to the Unification Church, but claimed he was following orders from higher-ups, including the church's leader, Han Hak-ja.

Yoon's arrest is expected to accelerate the special prosecutor's investigation into the connections between the Unification Church and Kim Geon-hee, focusing on whether the gifts were actually delivered to her.

Additionally, a broker identified as Lee, who is also implicated in the bribery allegations under the Specific Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act, was arrested on the same day. The court expressed similar concerns regarding Lee's potential to destroy evidence or flee.