A Christian pastor, whose detention by South Korean authorities last year sparked outrage among religious freedom advocates and drew the ire of the Trump administration, has been released from prison after receiving a suspended six-month sentence on charges he used his religious standing to influence politics in South Korea.
The Rev. Son Hyun-bo, 62, head pastor of Segeroh Presbyterian Church, made headlines upon his release in South Korea on Friday by thanking Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance for drawing attention to his case.
He also said he was “truly grateful to the 10,000 American pastors who helped secure my release at the time,” according to a report by The Chosen Daily, a major South Korean newspaper.
Mr. Son is among several religious leaders caught up in aggressive raids and investigations last year by the leftist government of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who has been accused of targeting conservative pastors and weaponizing the country’s justice system against political opponents.
Another high-profile case involves that of 82-year-old Hak Ja Han Moon, who was also arrested last September and currently remains confined in a 70-square-foot cell at the Seoul Detention Center.
Her trial is ongoing in Seoul Central District Court, where she appeared in a wheelchair at a hearing in early December.
Mrs. Han is the widow of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon and the matriarch of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU). “Her health situation really is concerning,” Shin Chul Moon, one of the more than three dozen grandchildren of Mrs. Han, said following her detention late last year.
Like Mr. Son, Mrs. Han was taken into custody in politically polarized South Korea during the aftermath last year of a fraught power transfer from conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol to liberal Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee won the presidency in June following Mr. Yoon’s impeachment for declaring martial law in December.
Special counsel investigators say Mrs. Han ordered the bribery of Mr. Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, and placed her organization’s support behind a conservative lawmaker, Kweon Seong-dong, who is also in detention.
Investigators say Mrs. Han aimed to receive political favors, including official assistance for a Cambodian development project and the acquisition of a Korean cable TV channel, neither of which transpired.
The FFWPU maintains Mrs. Han had no knowledge of the alleged bribery and blames a rogue executive, subsequently fired, named “Yoon.” He, too, is in detention.
Mrs. Han has been detained and indicted on charges of embezzlement, bribery, illegal political donations and destruction of evidence. The federation, formerly known as the Unification Church, owns multiple businesses, including The Washington Times.
Her case has sparked international concern that conservative religious leaders were being deliberately targeted in South Korea.
“The lawfare being directed at religious leader Dr. Hak Ja Han in South Korea is deeply troubling,” former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on X following Mrs. Han’s arrest in September. “The intensifying assaults on religious liberty are a betrayal of the democratic principles that South Korea is meant to espouse.”
Similar sentiment has surrounded the case of Mr. Son, 62, a former South Korean special forces soldier with a devout following in some Christian circles in the Northeast Asian country, which is a close security ally of the United States.
Mr. Son was arrested last year on charges of violating South Korea’s “Public Official Election Act.” Authorities accused him of using the pulpit, and YouTube, to rally support for conservative political candidates and belonging to a group that demonstrated in opposition to the impeachment last year of former President Yoon.
South Korean media have reported that Mr. Son’s case attracted attention at the highest levels of the Trump administration. The Chosun Daily newspaper reported that Mr. Vance expressed concern about the case during a White House meeting late last month with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok.
Immediately following his sentencing last week, Mr. Son said, “I would like to express my gratitude to Secretary of State Rubio and Vice President Vance for inviting my family to the White House and listening to our story in detail,” according to Chosun Daily.
“Separation of church and state means the state cannot interfere with a church’s worship and faith, not that it can silence the church,” Mr. Son said. “This is a matter of freedom. I will appeal immediately.”
