Japanese victims react to Unification Church head's arrest in South Korea

The Japan Times/September 23, 2025

Japanese victims of the Unification Church's donation program have called for fundamental solutions regarding the controversial religious group after its leader was arrested in South Korea on Tuesday in a bribery case involving the previous South Korean president's wife.

The religious group "has created tragedies in which large donations resulted in the deterioration and collapse of family relations for many years," said a 60-year-old male member of a Japanese group of families affected by the Unification Church.

"I feel the (Unification Church) leader's arrest finally came," he said. "It marks the start of efforts to put an end to Unification Church problems."

The man, who currently provides advice to Unification Church followers, pointed out that the 82-year-old arrested leader, Han Hak-ja, may have used donations from followers to give luxury gifts to Kim Keon-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. "It tramples on the feelings of followers and is totally unacceptable."

According to the man, his wife in her 70s lost about 1 million yen due to donations to the religious group. She managed to leave the group after visiting a counselor for nearly a year, accompanied by the husband.

"The Unification Church's doctrine includes unconditional obedience and self-denial, so it's difficult to break free from its mind control alone," the wife said. She called for followers who find it difficult to leave the group to consult experts and others.

A group of Japanese lawyers tackling the issue of so-called spiritual sales released a statement saying that the reality that the Unification Church headquarters in South Korea has been used funds collected from victims for its own benefit will hopefully be exposed.

The lawyer group also urged the Japan's parliament to set up an independent third-party panel to thoroughly investigate the Unification Church's ties with Japanese politicians.

The religious group's branch in Japan said on X, formerly Twitter, that the arrested leader is cooperating with investigators, while regretting that she was arrested despite her age and need for care.