ANKARA 

South Korean prosecutors on Friday indicted controversial church leader Han Hak-ja on charges of bribery, embezzlement, and evidence tampering linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee and the ruling People Power Party, according to Yonhap News.

Han, 82, was arrested on Sept. 23 after a court approved warrants on allegations of bribery.

Han is accused of conspiring with a former church official, surnamed Yun, to provide 100 million won ($72,400) to People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong in 2022 in exchange for his assistance in securing favors for the church if former President Yoon Suk Yeol won the presidential election later that year, which he did.

Additionally, Han is suspected of gifting a luxury necklace and Chanel bags to Yoon's wife, Kim, while seeking favors, using church funds to buy the gifts, and instructing Yun to destroy evidence ahead of an investigation into her alleged gambling abroad.

But the church denies any involvement by Han, claiming that the alleged actions were carried out solely by the former church official.

The Unification Church, founded in 1954 by staunch anti-communists in South Korea, is widely labeled a cult.

A Japanese court earlier this year ordered the dissolution of its branch, leading to the loss of its legal status.