Persecution of Peace Church Intensifies in Japan and South Korea

By Philip High, New York City

“The role of Dr. Hak Ja Han in pushing for peaceful reunification of the Korean Penninsula and better US Relations with North Korea is invaluable. She incarnates the idea of a clergy person who engages in optimistic diplomacy. The Center for Political Innovation is happy to add its voice to the millions across the globe calling daily for her immediate release.” 

- Caleb Maupin, Founder and Director of the Center for Political Innovation

The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) is now caught in an existential, two-front war against government authorities: judicial erasure in Japan and political brutality in South Korea. The Tokyo District Court’s dissolution order, issued in March 2025, is no longer merely a legal threat; it is a declaration of war. 

Crucially, the horrifying events simultaneously unfolding in South Korea—including the arrest and physical abuse of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, the Mother of Peace—have validated the Japanese leadership’s deepest fears and compelled them to seek immediate self-exile in the United States.

This is the catastrophic evidence that the FFWPU Japanese leadership cited in their desperate decision to flee: The political establishment is using state power to break its spiritual enemies, turning legal proceedings into tools of physical and psychological destruction. Their flight is a necessary escape from an orchestrated campaign that has already proven to be life-threatening.

The True Cost of 'Justice': Public Humiliation and Physical Attrition

The most urgent front in this global crisis is the physical and spiritual devastation inflicted upon Dr. Moon in her home country. The 82-year-old leader, frail and recovering from a heart procedure, was arrested and indicted in Seoul on baseless charges. The ensuing detention under politically motivated investigation has been nothing short of torture.

Dr. Moon was subjected to intensive, multi-hour interrogations—amounting to psychological attrition—despite her advanced age and frail health.

The state also sought to maximize public humiliation. During her initial appearances before the Special Prosecutor’s Office, Dr. Moon was overwhelmed by a sea of South Korean news media , jostling and shouting questions without the presence of appropriate police protection. This chaotic scene, which turned her vulnerable entry into a public spectacle and a grave dignity violation, caused significant embarrassment to the government after it was broadcast worldwide. As a direct result of political pressure from the Church, human rights groups, and political supporters, authorities were forced to provide appropriate levels of police protection and escort for her subsequent court hearings.

Beyond the public show, the physical conditions of her detention violate all basic humanitarian standards. Supporters report that the Mother of Peace is confined to a cell so tiny, it is comparable to the size of a British-made Mini Cooper automobile, a space roughly 5 feet wide by 8 feet long (approx. 4 square meters). The cell lacks adequate heating and ventilation, creating damp, frigid air.

Compounding this cruelty, Dr. Moon must wash the same single set of clothes she has worn since her first day of detention in a small sink each night. Due to the lack of adequate ventilation, the air remains saturated with dampness, drastically worsening her already fragile health while in detention. Detention officials have allegedly refused to provide the Mother of Peace with a cane or a wheelchair to prevent self-injury from falls, a deliberate act given her medical conditions. Furthermore, basic necessities such as a bed or clean clothing have been denied, despite these items being provided to all other detainees. This treatment constitutes arbitrary detention and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, in direct violation of international standards. This denial of care is particularly egregious as the government itself is actively investigating human rights violations against its own citizens in other detention contexts.

The persecution was so profound that FFWPU confirmed the Mother of Peace was forced to subsist solely on a milk-based formula due to the strain and physical toll of her confinement. Her detention was so dangerous that the courts were compelled to grant her a temporary release solely to receive emergency medical care and treatment.

Adding devastating moral weight to this injustice is the tragic reality that Dr. Moon—a great-grandmother , revered globally—is a citizen with an absolutely clean record, having never received a single parking ticket or faced any criminal charges in her entire life. To treat a figure of such moral standing as a dangerous flight risk and a common criminal is a shameful act of political desperation. Yet, despite this physical suffering, the FFWPU emphasizes that Dr. Moon remains spiritually healthy and mentally resolute. The Mother of Peace stands as a testament to faith, continuing to pray for all of the people and governments who persecute and imprison her physically, but not spiritually or mentally.

The tragic consequences of this state-sanctioned harassment are already undeniable: the FFWPU community mourns the suicide of a respected Korean church leader following the coercive and unrelenting interrogation style of South Korean prosecutors. This death stands as undeniable, tragic proof that the persecution campaign is designed not just to bankrupt the church, but to physically and psychologically destroy its leaders and members.

International Voices Condemn the 'Lawfare'

The crisis has triggered powerful condemnation from international political and human rights figures, validating the FFWPU’s claim of an ideological "witch hunt."

• Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explicitly stated: "The lawfare being directed at religious leader Dr. Moon in South Korea is deeply troubling. The intensifying assaults on religious liberty are a betrayal of the democratic principles that South Korea is meant to espouse.”

• Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich condemned the actions, tweeting that Dr. Moon, a global leader working for peace, is being targeted by "left-wing government's persecutors—not prosecutors—" and demanded that "This inhumane measure must be stopped immediately."

• Expanding the global plea for justice, Caleb Maupin, leader of the Center for Political Innovation (CPI), stated: "The role of Dr. Hak Ja Han in pushing for peaceful reunification of the Korean Penninsula and better US Relations with North Korea is invaluable. She incarnates the idea of a clergy person who engages in optimistic diplomacy. The Center for Political Innovation is happy to add its voice to the millions across the globe calling daily for her immediate release.” 

• Furthermore, Human Rights Organizations and Religious Freedom Advocates have unanimously condemned the arrest, stressing that targeting such a globally recognized leader sets a dangerous precedent for minority faith groups and signals a broader erosion of basic human rights in South Korea.

Flight to Safety: Why Japan’s Leaders Could Not Stay

The horrific outcome of the South Korean investigation provided an undeniable, imminent threat to FFWPU's Japanese leadership. They view the Tokyo District Court’s non-criminal dissolution order as the initial phase of a calculated, ideological attack—one that would inevitably escalate to the same abusive interrogations, arrests, civil rights violations, and potentially fatal detentions witnessed in Korea.

The Japanese dissolution order is based on a fundamentally flawed legal foundation: The Ministry of Education changed its legal interpretation of the Religious Corporations Act to allow dissolution based on civil law violations rather than the high bar of criminal activity. Furthermore, the court was swayed by the scientifically discredited "mind control" theory to rule against the organization, demonstrating a clear judicial bias.

This Japanese ruling has already been widely condemned by human rights experts and the United Nations for violating the fundamental right to freedom of religion and association, exposing the legal process as a politically motivated attack.

The Japanese leaders’ decision to flee to the United States for protection is a direct, rational response to the mortal danger demonstrated in Seoul. They are refusing to wait for Japan to follow South Korea’s path of weaponizing the legal system. When a government proves it is willing to physically break an 82-year-old humanitarian leader and deny her fundamental dignities, the necessity of exile becomes paramount. Leaders like FFWPU Japan President Tomihiro Tanaka are now prioritizing safety abroad over submission to an unjust system.

Rev. Demian Dunkley, President of the FFWPU USA, underscored the urgency and the link between the two nations' actions:

“This isn’t just a legal decision. It’s a message: Your faith is not welcome here. The church and the concept of religious freedom are now battling for survival in Japan’s legal system. The brutality we are witnessing in Korea is the outcome they fear, and we must act now.”

Call to Action and International Intervention

The coordinated attacks in both nations solidify the FFWPU’s claim of an international campaign of religious persecution targeting Dr. Moon, whose only "crime" remains "her faith, her leadership, and her unrelenting vision that humanity can live as one family under God."

The implications of Japan’s ruling and Korea’s abuses cannot be overstated. Rev. Dunkley’s chilling call to action resonates across all faiths:

“If it can happen to the Mother of Peace, it can happen to anyone.”

This crisis demands immediate, forceful pressure from every advocate of human rights and religious freedom worldwide. The time for silent observation is over. We urge all concerned individuals to join the global chorus and get involved here.