SEOUL (Reuters) -The leader of the Unification Church religious empire, Han Hak-ja, was jailed after a South Korean court on Tuesday issued a warrant to detain him in relation to graft allegations against the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, a prosecutor said.

Han has been accused of directing the church to bribe former First Lady Kim Keon Hee for favours for the church’s business interests. She has denied the allegations, calling them “false information”.

After Yoon was removed from office over a political crisis sparked by his short-lived martial law imposition last year, special prosecutors launched a sprawling criminal investigation into the former first couple, focused on the former first lady’s bribery allegations.

Kim is on trial this week over charges including bribery. S

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