The Mother of Peace's Detention is a Human Rights Violation
Public reports in September 2025 described the custody of Dr. Hak Ja Han, founder of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, at the Seoul Detention Center as a blatant human rights violation. Her situation has drawn international attention to the treatment of elderly detainees and the standards that all democratic societies are expected to uphold.
South Korea, as a member of the United Nations and a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), is bound by Articles 7 and 10 of that treaty: every person deprived of liberty must be treated “with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”
The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) further specify that:
accommodation must provide adequate space, light, ventilation, bedding, and heating;
prisoners must receive prompt access to medical care; and
age and physical condition must be considered in daily treatment and diet.
South Korea’s own Constitution (Article 10) guarantees human worth and dignity, while the Act on the Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Prisoners requires sanitary living conditions and medical oversight for all inmates, with “special consideration” for the elderly or infirm.
Human-rights advocates stress that these safeguards are not privileges but legal obligations that reflect the moral conscience of a democracy. As many faith leaders note, “The church is the conscience of the nation.” Protecting the dignity of those in custody—whatever their faith or social status—is a test of that conscience.Rev. Demian Dunkley, President of Family Federation for World Peace USA, describes Dr. Hak Ja Han’s cell in detail:
There's no furniture to sit on. And there's a camera watching you 24 hours a day. It's barely six square meters, the same size as a Mini Cooper. Her cell is damp. The air is stale. There is no sunlight, just a single bulb above her. She has no bed and she has no mattress. Instead, she folds her blankets beneath her and pulls the remaining one to cover herself at night. But the damp seeps through.
She has to wash her own clothes by hand and hang them in her cell, making the air heavier still. There's no sufficient heating. She is cold, but she sweats profusely because of her condition. And she has no extra clothes to change into, so her clothes stay wet, her hair is wet, and she's getting weaker. She falls from dizziness. With failing eyesight, she crawls around herself on her hands and knees. Her knees are bruised. Her feet are swollen. Her arms are numb. She's in pain. These are not false accusations. These are recorded facts.