▲ Han Hak-ja (in wheelchair), leader of the Unification Church, appears at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital in this file photo taken Sept. 22, 2025, to attend a hearing on the legality of her arrest over charges of bribery linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee. (Yonhap)

Unification Church leader-detention

Unification Church leader returns to behind bars after temporary release over health issues

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, who faces trial on bribery charges linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee, has returned to detention after a court rejected her request to extend her temporary release due to health issues, legal sources said Sunday.

The Seoul Central District Court on Friday rejected Han's request to extend her suspension from detention, placing her back behind bars the next day, according to the sources.

On Feb. 11, the court decided to suspend her detention through Saturday after she requested that she stand trial without being detained due to health issues. Han reportedly received treatment for a recent fall during her release.

It marked Han's second temporary release from detention after being placed under arrest last September. A court allowed her to undergo eye surgery in November.

A special counsel team indicted Han in October on charges of violating the political fund law and other offenses. She is suspected of involvement in gifting a luxury necklace and a Chanel bag to the former first lady among various other allegations.

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