How the Unification Church is linked to an investigation into South Korea's former first lady

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The elderly leader of the international Unification Church became the latest high-profile figure in South Korea to face an investigation in connection with criminal probes of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife.

Hak Ja Han is the 82-year-old widow of the church’s South Korean founder, Sun Myung Moon. She and the church have denied allegations they bribed Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, and a conservative lawmaker in an effort to secure business and political favors.

Investigators led by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki have not specified whether they will seek to arrest Han, who appeared for questioning Wednesday after refusing to comply with three previous summons, citing her recovery from a heart procedure.

Yoon was removed from office in April over a martial law decree he issued Dec. 3 that lasted only hours after the liberal-led legislature voted to lift it.

Here is a look at the church and the political scrutiny it recently has faced in South Korea and Japan.

Moon, who died in 2012 at age 92, founded the church, officially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, in 1954, a year after the end of the Korean War that devastated the peninsula.

A self-proclaimed messiah who preached new interpretations of the Bible and conservative family values, Moon built the Unification Church into an international movement with millions of followers and extensive business interests.

The church is known for staunch anti-communism, although Moon met North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang in 1991 to promote engagement between North Korea and South Korea.

The church is widely known for mass weddings held in stadiums or large indoor venues, pairing thousands of couples who often are from different countries.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the church faced accusations of devious recruitment tactics and brainwashing followers to abandon their families and raise money, often by turning over large portions of their salaries. The church has denied the allegations, saying many new religious movements face similar accusations early on.

Moon was convicted of tax evasion in 1982 and served a prison term in New York.

During its international growth, the church developed ties with conservative world leaders, including U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Investigators sought to question Han in an expanded probe into corruption allegations surrounding Yoon’s wife, Kim.

Kim is suspected of accepting luxury gifts through an intermediary for a Unification Church official. The official reportedly sought business favors, including the church's participation in a Cambodian development project. The official, who has been arrested, is also suspected of providing 100 million won ($72,400) in bribes to conservative lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, a staunch Yoon loyalist who was arrested early Wednesday.

Han and the church say the church official acted on his own, while Kweon denied receiving church money.

“False claims are being circulated that our church provided illegal political funds under my instructions,” Han said in a statement read by an associate in an Aug. 31 video. “I have never instructed any illegal political requests or financial transactions.”

The investigation into Han comes as the church’s branch in Japan challenges a court order that could pave the way for its dissolution.

The church faced hundreds of lawsuits in Japan from families claiming it manipulated members into draining their savings for the church, but it largely escaped official scrutiny and maintained close ties with the governing Liberal Democratic Party for years.

Tokyo District Court in March ordered the revocation of the church’s legal status after the government accused it of manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that instilled fear among followers and harmed their families.

The order followed an investigation into the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The man accused of shooting Abe was believed to be motivated by the former prime minister's links to the Unification Church and blamed it for bankrupting his family. The killing prompted investigations into church practices and its connections to powerful politicians.

If it stands, the ruling would end the church’s tax-exempt status in Japan and force the liquidation of its assets. The church has filed an appeal, calling the court order regrettable and unjust.

FILE - South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee, wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review her arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors, in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 12, 2025. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, July 9, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Couples from around the world participate in a mass wedding ceremony at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, South Korea, on March 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial founder of the Unification Church, speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Peace Cup Suwon at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, South Korea, on July 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades with at least 2,572 people killed so far.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would “take very strong action” if executions take place.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday. The figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After Trump was informed on the number of deaths, he warned Iran's leaders that he was terminating any negotiations and would “act accordingly.”

Details of the crackdown began emerging Tuesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications countrywide when the protests broke out.

Here is the latest:

German police said Wednesday the two climbed over a fence into embassy grounds and tore down an Iranian flag. Both wanted to hoist two pre-Islamic Republic flags but failed, German news agency dpa reported.

They left the grounds when guards used pepper spray and were detained on the sidewalk outside.

The incident happened late Tuesday.

Major Middle East governments were discouraging the Trump administration from waging a war with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” in the volatile region, an Arab Gulf diplomat said Wednesday.

The Cairo-based diplomat, who was given anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said major governments in the region including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabai and Pakistan have been “in constant contact” with the U.S. administration over a potential American strike on Iran that could explode into a “full-blown war.”

Such a war will “certainly” have dire repercussions “not only on the Middle East but also on the global economy," he said.

Iranian state television said Wednesday’s mass funeral in Tehran would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians. The funeral is expected to take place at Tehran University under heavy security.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which is tracking the death toll, said more than 2,550 people have been killed, 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated.

Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.

Gauging the demonstrations and the death toll from abroad has grown more difficult and The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.

Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.

Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran could impact India, an expert said, as New Delhi already faces existing 50% U.S. trade levies due its purchases of Russian oil.

Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a senior economist at the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the bigger risk is not India-Iran trade, but India’s access to the U.S. market as its exports to Iran are modest.

India mainly exports rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery to Iran, while importing dry fruits and chemical products. Textiles and garments, gems and jewelry and engineering goods are likely to be the most vulnerable sectors, he said.

Trump’s latest move also could affect India’s investments in Iran including the strategically important Chabahar port, which gives India a trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Pakistan, Mukhopadhyay said.

Iran’s judiciary chief signals fast trials and executions for those detained in nationwide protests.

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television on Wednesday.

He emphasized the need for swift action, saying delays would lessen the impact.

His remarks challenge Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview aired Tuesday.

Trump stated the U.S. would take strong action if Iran proceeded with executions. The situation highlights escalating tensions between the two countries over the handling of the protests.

Dozens of Pakistani students studying in Iran have returned home through a remote southwestern border crossing, a Pakistani immigration official said Wednesday.

Federal Investigation Agency spokesperson in Quetta city, Samina Raisani, said about 60 students crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday through Gabd border in Balochistan province with valid travel documents.

More students were expected to return through the same crossing later Wednesday, she said.

Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian universities had rescheduled exams and permitted international students to leave the country.

The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in to people Iran who have access to the company's receivers, activists said Wednesday.

Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.

Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.

Starlink did not immediately acknowledge the decision.

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)