The sentencing of Han Hak-ja, the leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, and the trial of Shincheonji leader Lee Man-hee raise a question that does not seem to get asked very often in Korea: Why are churches and some social organizations so restricted in their involvement in politics while others aren’t? Han, 83, and legally blind, was sentenced this week to two years in prison after being found guilty of political funding and other offences. Among the charges was approving the delivery of luxury goods, including a Chanel handbag and a diamond necklace, to Kim Keon Hee, the former first lady, through an intermediary. She faces further proceedings over other alleged financial offences. Lee Man-hee, 95, meanwhile, is being tried over allegations that he ordered tens of thousands of Shincheonji members to join the People Power Party in order to influence its primaries and elections. The prosecutors describe this as a serious matter of religious-political collusion, saying they had uncovered “the first case in which a religious organization used its large-scale