Pres. Han 24th Trial (Pt 2)—SP and Yoon Cross-Exam Cho Seong-il ( 26-05-10)

[최종근]

President Han’s 24th Trial (Part 2)—Cross-Examination of “Witness Cho Seong-il” by the Special Prosecutor and Yoon Young-ho (2026-05-10)

 On May 8, 2026, during the 24th trial of President Han Hak-ja, cross-examination was conducted of former World Headquarters Director Cho Seong-il.

 Through questioning by the prosecution and Yoon Young-ho, Cho Seong-il testified regarding President Han’s personnel management style and that Jeong Won-ju, as Chief of Staff, occasionally provided advice on external activities.

 Based on this witness examination, it is highly likely that the court will deem the courtroom testimony stating, “Everything was done arbitrarily by Yoon Young-ho, and Jeong Won-ju was not involved at all,” to be “false (perjury),” making this testimony unfavorable to President Han and Jeong Won-ju.

 ◆ Key Testimony of Former World Headquarters Director Cho Seong-il (Current Vice Chairman for Japan)

 Originally, President Han’s side had called Cho Seong-il as a witness to corroborate the claim that “this matter was Yoon Young-ho’s unilateral decision, and Jeong Won-ju bears no responsibility.”

 However, in reality, Cho Seong-il’s testimony ended up placing President Han and Jeong Won-ju in a disadvantageous position.

 1. Establishment of the President’s Secretariat

 When the prosecution asked, “Who established and promoted the President’s Secretariat?”, Cho Seong-il testified, “The need for a secretariat came up during various discussions with the President.”

 Furthermore, when the prosecution asked, “Did the witness, together with Yoon Young-ho, report the necessity of establishing the Secretariat to President Han?” Cho Sung-il replied, “We sometimes reported it together, and at other times Yoon Young-ho reported it separately, but I recall that Yoon Young-ho took the lead.”

 2. President Han’s Personnel Management Style — “Assess Before Appointing”

 In response to the prosecution’s question, “Why didn’t she appoint him directly as head of the department, but instead had him serve as secretary-general first?” Cho Seong-il testified, “When appointing personnel, the president is the type to observe them for a certain period of time.”

When the prosecution asked, “Is this a style of making personnel decisions after careful observation?” Cho Seong-il replied, “That is my understanding.”

 It is true that President Han promoted Cho Seong-il and Yoon Young-ho only after observing them for a certain period of time.

 However, this contradicts the case of the August 15, 2025, organizational restructuring (dissolution of the Cheonmu Office and establishment of a three-director system), during which she immediately appointed individuals whom Jeong Won-ju had brought in from overseas to key positions.

 At President Han’s 23rd court hearing held on the 28th of last month, when the prosecution asked Jeong Won-ju, “Why did a person named Kim Eun-sang end up overseeing legal affairs after this incident?” Jeong Won-ju testified as follows:

 “Mother had everyone resign during the August personnel reshuffle (on August 15, she dismissed Hwang Bo-guk, president of the Association; Yoo Kyeong-deuk, chairman of the Unification Foundation; Park Young-bae, president of UPF, and others), because they had caused problems and were therefore unqualified to remain in their positions…So, since Mother felt a new leaders were needed, she gathered all the people close to her and, I believe, established the three-director system during the process of selecting from among them, but I wasn’t closely involved in the situation at that time…”

 She further stated, “There’s no way I could know who appointed him (Kim Eun-sang). I wasn’t that deeply involved either…” emphasizing that she had no involvement whatsoever in personnel matters.

 In other words, this is a defense claiming that the dissolution of the Cheonmoo-won and the establishment of the three-director system were “the work of President Han Hak-ja,” and that Jeong Won-ju knew nothing about it. Through this typical testimony designed to evade responsibility, she is shifting all blame onto President Han Hak-ja.

 ▶ The 23rd Public Trial of President Han — Grounds for Claims That Jeong Won-ju’s Testimony "I am not involved in the Unification Church Personnel Matters" Is "False (Perjury)" (2026-05-04)

https://cafe.daum.net/antiuccorruption/cRwZ/9

The 23rd Public Trial of President Han（2026-05-04）

 3. Jeong Won-ju Was Also Involved in External Activities

At President Han’s 23rd trial, Jeong Won-ju testified, “I was merely by President Han’s side and had absolutely no involvement in important matters.”

 However, Cho Seong-il, whom the Unification Church side had called as a witness, testified in response to the prosecutor’s question, “Did Jeong Won-ju, as chief of staff, also provide reports or opinions regarding external activities?” that “Yes, she did so from time to time.”

 Cho Seong-il’s testimony made it clear that Jeong Won-ju was not merely a figurehead.

 4. Cho Seong-il, Vice President of the Japan Association, Receives Salary from World Headquarters

 Cho Seong-il testified, “I have been working as the Director of the Planning and Coordination Department of the Japan Association since October 2020, and I have served as Vice President since this year.” When the prosecution asked about the source of his salary, he stated that he “receives his salary from the World Headquarters,” not the Japan Association.

 Normally, it would be natural for a person working at the Japan Association to receive a salary from the Japan Association, but the reason he receives his salary from the World Headquarters is likely because the salary amount from the World Headquarters is higher.

 However, given that the Japan Association has been liquidated and all Japanese public officials have been left unemployed, isn’t the fact that only the Vice President of Japan Association is receiving a salary from the World Headquarters an extremely serious issue?

 Cho Seong-il has held a position of great responsibility within the Japan Association since 2020 and is one of the top executives who should bear responsibility for the dissolution of the Japan Association. Yet, the fact that he continues to receive a regular salary from the World Headquarters while maintaining his position as Vice President of Japan is utterly incomprehensible.

 The reality that the Unification Church’s upper echelons enjoy authority without bearing responsibility is a crucial matter that members should be aware of.

 5. Revocation of Appointments — Jeong Won-ju and Yoon Young-ho

 In April 2022, President Han Hak-ja appointed Cho Seong-il as General Director of the Cheonju Cheonbo Training Center at a retreat attended by approximately 600 people, but this appointment was revoked just three days later.

 When questioned by prosecutors about this matter, Cho Seong-il testified, “According to what I heard from Director Lee Gi-seong, the President had directed so. I also heard that Yoon Young-ho made a report to the President during the process, and the decision was made as a result.”

Cho Seong-il’s appointment which was “revoked within three days” sparked significant debate within the Unification Church at the time. This was because the appointment done by President Han, which had been announced publicly, was revoked without a clear reason, greatly damaging the president’s dignity.

 In connection with the revocation of the personnel appointment, Yoon Young-ho personally questioned Cho Seong-il in court.

 According to Yoon Young-ho’s own recollection,
 〇 He had been contacted in advance by Cheonjeonggung and the decision was made by the President

 〇 At the time of the announcement, he was unable to meet with the President in person because he had contracted COVID-19
 〇 The circumstances surrounding his report to the President regarding the reform of the Japan Association and the transfer of funds from the Japan Association to Korea

 He asserted that he had properly explained the background and circumstances of the personnel decision to Cho Seong-il at the time, and asked for Cho Seong-il’s opinion on the matter.

 In response, Cho Seong-il stated,
 “I had heard about the personnel decision and the process of its revocation, and while it is possible that Yoon Young-ho explained various things to me, since I was in South Korea at the time, I think he should have consulted with me more thoroughly before reporting to the President,”
 .

 This exchange suggests that, since Yoon Young-ho was unable to meet with President Han in person at the time due to a COVID-19 infection, it is unlikely that he personally led the decision to revoke the personnel appointment.

 At the time, the perception within the Unification Church was that the revocation of Cho Seong-il’s appointment had been carried out under the leadership of Jeong Won-ju.

 Since Yoon Young-ho had an accurate understanding of the background behind Cho Seong-il’s appointment, he asked the question directly himself. Yoon Young-ho’s side also mentioned issues such as Chairman Yeon Jeong-sik’s misuse of public funds and the van issue.

 All of these matters are important issues that members should be aware of, and we plan to disclose them in additional updates in the future.

 May 10, 2026

 Choi Jong-keun
 [Unification Church Anti-Corruption Monitoring Committee]

*As this document was generated by AI, there may be typos or mistranslations.

 ■ President Han’s 24th Trial ① — Special Prosecutor and Yoon Young-ho Side’s Witness Examination of “Hwang Sun-jo” (2026-05-09)

https://cafe.daum.net/antiuccorruption/cRwZ/11

■ Report on the 23rd Trial of President Han① — “The Church’s Perspective” vs. “The Believers Solidarity’s Perspective” on Jeong Won-ju’s Testimony (2026-05-01)

https://cafe.daum.net/antiuccorruption/cRwZ/7

 ■ The 22nd Trial of President Han (Part 2)

— Praise for Jeong Won-ju / The necessity of clarifying the reality of the “missing 200 million KRW condolence money” (2026-04-29)

https://cafe.daum.net/antiuccorruption/cRwZ/6

 ■ The 22nd Trial of President Han – Treasury Keeper Kim Jin-0 Fatal Testimony to President Han “President Han directly managed the funds” (2026-04-26)

https://cafe.daum.net/antiuccorruption/cRwZ/3

 ■ Police Suspend Investigation into “Unification Church Gambling Trip Information Leak Allegations” After Questioning 119 People – Attention Turns to Special Prosecutor’s Findings (April 24, 2026)
 https://cafe.daum.net/antiuccorruption/ZXsd/1503