https://www.scmp.com/rss/522488/feed The latest news and top stories on Yoon Young-ho. A former high-ranking official, specifically Director-General of the Unification Church’s World Headquarters, he is central to a significant bribery scandal. He is alleged to have provided luxury items including Chanel handbags and a diamond necklace to former First Lady Kim Keon-hee. These gifts were purportedly intended to secure government assistance for Unification Church projects such as a Cambodian development initiative and the acquisition... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s rival political parties are set to appoint special prosecutors to investigate allegations that the Unification Church bribed and lobbied politicians across the ideological divide, a rare move that observers have said could test the country’s constitutional separation of religion and politics. On Monday, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said it would accept a proposal from the conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP) for the team of special prosecutors to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337368/south-korean-politicians-agree-unification-church-special-probe-rare-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337368/south-korean-politicians-agree-unification-church-special-probe-rare-move?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 01:30:14 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea is bracing for a showdown between political power and religious influence, as a widening bribery scandal linked to the Unification Church has thrust President Lee Jae-myung into a battle over how far the state should go in policing faith-based organisations. With allegations of illicit lobbying spreading across the country’s two major political parties, Lee has ordered a review of whether religious groups accused of systematic election interference and covert funding networks can be... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335911/south-koreas-threat-dissolve-corrupt-religious-groups-risks-political-blowback?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335911/south-koreas-threat-dissolve-corrupt-religious-groups-risks-political-blowback?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:13 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong For the first time in a quarter-century of independent prosecutions, a sitting South Korean lawmaker has been arrested amid a corruption scandal that has shaken the nation’s political and religious establishments to their core. Kweon Seong-dong – a towering figure in the conservative People Power Party and a close confidant of impeached former president Yoon Suk-yeol – has been detained on charges of accepting illicit funds from the Unification Church. Kweon, a five-term lawmaker and former... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3325801/south-koreas-church-state-corruption-scandal-ensnares-yoon-ally-kweon-seong-dong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3325801/south-koreas-church-state-corruption-scandal-ensnares-yoon-ally-kweon-seong-dong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 03:21:34 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s Unification Church has forcefully rejected allegations that its leader, Han Hak-ja, bribed the wife of former president Yoon Suk-yeol, even as prosecutors expand a corruption investigation that threatens to expose decades of the church’s political entanglements. In a rare video address released on Sunday, Han – the widow of church founder Sun Myung-moon – denied direct involvement in any irregularities. “False information is being spread that, under my instructions, our church... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3323992/south-korea-bribery-probe-targets-unification-churchs-business-religion-complex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3323992/south-korea-bribery-probe-targets-unification-churchs-business-religion-complex?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 05:02:07 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong As jailed South Korean ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol continues to defy prosecutors’ attempts to question him over his martial law debacle, his wife Kim Keon-hee – who has also been detained – faces fresh bribery accusations amid a growing list of scandals involving luxury brands and political favours. After meeting her for more than two hours on Wednesday, one of her lawyers said Kim had “not eaten a single meal” since being detained the previous afternoon, adding “her health condition is currently... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321761/jailing-south-koreas-kim-keon-hee-reveals-fresh-bribery-claims-over-us40000-watch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321761/jailing-south-koreas-kim-keon-hee-reveals-fresh-bribery-claims-over-us40000-watch?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:09 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s scandal-plagued former first lady Kim Keon-hee walked into court on Tuesday, head bowed and looking visibly tense, for a hearing that could make her the first ex-presidential spouse in the country’s history to be jailed on criminal charges. Wearing a dark jacket and skirt with a white blouse, her hair pulled back, Kim brushed past pool reporters without a word as she climbed the stairs to the courtroom. A ruling on whether to remand her for questioning or allow her to remain free... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321513/south-koreas-former-first-lady-battles-jail-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321513/south-koreas-former-first-lady-battles-jail-time?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Aug 2025 02:28:35 +0000