Joint Investigation Team Seeks Arrest Warrants for 3 Former Shincheonji Officials Over Alleged Forced Party Membership

The joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, which is probing allegations of collusion between religious organizations and political entities, has moved to secure the custody of former Shincheonji officials in connection with allegations of "mass forced party membership."

The joint investigation team announced on June 12 that it had requested arrest warrants for three individuals, including Ko Dong-han, the former secretary-general who was considered the second-in-command of the church, as well as former secretaries of the John and Simon tribes, on charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstruction of business.

This marks the first attempt to secure custody of suspects since the joint investigation team was launched on January 6, 158 days ago.

Ko and the others are accused of forcing church members to join the People Power Party (PPP) between 2021 and 2024 with the intent to influence the party's presidential and general election primaries.

Article 42 of the Political Parties Act prohibits the coercion of individuals to join or leave a political party.

The joint investigation team suspects that Shincheonji encouraged its members to join the PPP under names such as the "Pilates Project" for each tribe, resulting in over 50,000 members registering as party members.

The team also included charges of obstruction of business in the warrant, viewing such organized party registration as having disrupted the election-related operations of the People Power Party.

Since January, the joint investigation team has secured lists of Shincheonji members and PPP party members through search and seizure operations at the Shincheonji headquarters and the PPP party office.

After completing the analysis of seized materials and questioning relevant individuals, the team summoned Ko for questioning as a suspect three times starting last month. It is reported that Ko largely denied the allegations during the investigations.

The joint investigation team is also investigating allegations that Ko, who has managed the church's finances since 2017, embezzled a portion of over 11.3 billion won collected from members under the pretext of legal fees and public relations expenses for Chairman Lee Man-hee.

However, these charges were not included in the current arrest warrant request.

Observers suggest that if the arrest warrants for Ko and the others are issued, the joint investigation team will likely move to secure the custody of Shincheonji Chairman Lee Man-hee, who is considered the "pinnacle" of the allegations.

During the investigation of former Shincheonji officials, the joint team secured testimonies suggesting that the order to join the party was handed down from Chairman Lee to the secretary-general, then to each tribe leader, church pastor, and through the channels of the senior, women's, and youth associations, and that such collective action would have been impossible without Chairman Lee's instructions.

The joint investigation team summoned Chairman Lee on June 4 as a suspect to question him about the overall allegations.
 

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.