Cases of the Unification Church dissolution in Japan and the possibility of dissolution of the Unification Church in Korea

Overview of the Decision to Dissolve the Unification Church in Japan

On March 25, 2025, the Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (hereinafter referred to as Unification Church). This decision followed a petition filed by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2023, based on the Unification Church's repeated illegal activities and instances of harm. The petition was based on Article 81 of the Japanese Religious Juridical Persons Act, which states that a corporation can be dissolved if it repeatedly engages in acts harmful to the public welfare or commits irreparable illegal acts. The Tokyo District Court ruled that the Unification Church had systematically coerced its members into making large donations over several decades, leading to numerous economic damages. The Unification Church appealed the decision to the Tokyo High Court however, the initial ruling garnered attention as the first civil violation ruling regarding the dissolution of a religious corporation in Japan's history.

Main grounds for the judgment of the Japanese judiciary

The key basis for the dissolution order is the organized financial exploitation practices of the Unification Church. Following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, the Japanese government launched a comprehensive investigation into the social issues related to the Unification Church. This investigation was carried out through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, resulting in reports of over 1,500 victim testimonies and a total property loss amounting to 20 billion yen. The court determined that the Unification Church had been coercing its members into continuous large donations since the 1980s under the pretext of 'spiritual inheritance' and 'ancestor liberation,' concluding that this behavior infringed on individual free will and violated property rights. Particularly significant was the fact that the same practices continued even after the Unification Church internally declared a 'compliance declaration' in 2009. The court concluded that there was no possibility of self-correction within the organization and issued the dissolution order under the judgment that it "significantly harms the public good.

Comparison of the legal structures related to religious corporations in Japan and South Korea

The establishment and dissolution of religious corporations in South Korea are primarily regulated by related laws such as the Civil Code, the Religious Corporations Act, and the National Tax Basic Act. According to Articles 94 to 100 of the Civil Code, a corporation can be dissolved in case of impossibility to achieve its purpose, cancellation of establishment approval, or occurrence of serious illegal conduct that harms the public interest. However, due to the special status of religious corporations, strict requirements are applied to avoid conflicts with the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. In order to dissolve a religious corporation in South Korea, the administrative agency supervising the religious corporation (e.g., the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) can file for dissolution, and the National Tax Service, as the entity responsible for managing tax benefits for non-profit corporations, handles procedures such as tax audits and cancellation of registration. In contrast, in Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has direct supervisory authority over religious corporations and is structured to request a dissolution order from the courts. Additionally, while Japan specifies "violation of public welfare" as grounds for dissolution in its Religious Corporations Act, the criteria in South Korea are stricter and more abstract, and there are very few instances where the courts have issued a dissolution order. This difference impacts the practical criteria for initiating dissolution procedures and serves as a structural background that makes it difficult to directly apply the Japanese case to South Korea.

Kim Geon-hee special investigation and circumstances related to the Unification Church in Korea

As of July 2025, the Special Investigation Team led by Min Jung-ki, which is investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee, is conducting an intensive investigation into lobbying and accounting fraud related to the Unification Church. The special investigation team has secured the accounting materials of the Unification Church from 2021 to 2023 and has conducted searches at key facilities, including the Unification Church headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, and Cheonjeonggung in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. The key figure in the investigation is Jeon Seong-bae, known as 'Geonjin Beopsa.' Jeon has maintained a close relationship with the Unification Church, and there are indications that he received expensive gifts (such as Chanel bags and diamond necklaces) from the Unification Church, which he then delivered to First Lady Kim Geon-hee. The special investigation team is verifying whether these items are connected to political favors from the Unification Church, such as support related to government ODA projects, requests for invitations to the presidential inauguration, the acquisition of YTN, and the relocation of the UN's Fifth Committee. Additionally, the special investigation team is also looking into whether Representative Kwon Seong-dong of the People Power Party was involved with the Unification Church in influencing nominations or accepting political funds. Officials of the Unification Church are also being investigated for corruption allegations, including some related to overseas gambling trips, and currently, some officials are undergoing summons investigations and data forensics.

Legal considerations for the possibility of filing a request for dissolution order

In order to request a dissolution order for the Unification Church, which is a religious corporation in South Korea, several specific requirements must be met. First, there must be evidence of organized and repeated illegal activities. Second, it must be proven that these actions have substantially harmed the public interest. Third, there should be circumstances indicating a lack of possibility for voluntary improvement or that past self-corrective measures have failed. So far, the special investigation into the Unification Church has focused on criminal offenses such as embezzlement, bribery, and violations of the Political Funds Act, and it has not yet been confirmed whether actual victims have been systematically harmed, the scale of the damage, or the repetitive nature of the harm. In Japan, over 1,500 victim testimonies and more than 20 billion yen in damage amounts have been collected, whereas in South Korea, there are still no specific figures or confirmed criminal judgments. Furthermore, a dissolution request cannot be filed by ordinary citizens it must be submitted to the court through relevant administrative bodies, such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism or the National Tax Service. Even in this case, the court must make a substantial judgment based on objective criteria, and it is difficult for a dissolution order to be issued solely on the basis of political or social controversy or public opinion.

Japan's Unification Church has been preparing for a 'substitution' of its religious corporation in anticipation of dissolution for the past 16 years.

On March 25, 2025, the Tokyo District Court of Japan issued an order to dissolve the Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification). It was revealed that the organization had been preparing for the possibility of dissolution by establishing a separate religious corporation and transferring assets for the past 16 years. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, along with the court, secured evidence during the ruling process that the Unification Church established a separate religious corporation called "Heavenly Unified Religion" around 2009, and had internally developed and executed a plan to transfer some of the Unification Church's organization, believers, and assets through that entity. The court pointed out that the organization was substantially linked to the Unification Church, and noted the overlapping of donor funds and believers. While the Unification Church claimed that "Heavenly Unified Religion" was a separate and independent religious group, many elements supporting the conclusion that it could be considered the same entity were identified, including similarities in internal operational regulations, organizational structure, and overlapping lists of individuals involved. In particular, the Ministry of Education noted that after the Unification Church recognized the possibility of a dissolution order being issued, it began to actively transfer and disperse corporate names. This behavior was suspected of being aimed at evading the oversight of public authorities and concealing assets. The Tokyo District Court regarded such attempts at "corporate name switching" as preemptive measures to evade legal dissolution procedures, and issued a dissolution order for the existing corporation, based on a judgment that included substantial control over assets and organization. Additionally, it stated that the transferred corporation could also be subject to investigation by supervisory authorities.

Comprehensive Assessment and Future Prospects for the Unification Church in Korea

The case of the disbandment of the Unification Church in Japan has set a precedent that legal disbandment measures can be taken within the scope of religious freedom protection when a religious corporation repeatedly engages in unlawful acts under civil law. In South Korea, if allegations of political lobbying, financial irregularities, and embezzlement against the Unification Church are confirmed judicially through the Kim Geon-hee special investigation, there may be a possibility of filing for a disbandment order. However, due to the strong application of the principle of religious freedom in South Korea's legal structure and the necessity of undergoing a dual process involving administrative agency claims and court judgments, it will be difficult to reach a disbandment decision at the same pace or in the same manner as in Japan. Additionally, specific requirements such as the organized existence of victims, the recurrence of harm, and the proof of social harm must be met for substantial measures to be taken. Depending on future investigative results, there may be developments that could affect the legal status of the Unification Church, and the responses from relevant administrative agencies and judgments from the judiciary will be significant variables. At the same time, careful legal review and judgment will be required between the principles of constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom and public interest protection.