▲ Lee Man-hee, Chairman of Shincheonji
Lee Man-hee, the chairman of the religious group Shincheonji, has been indicted on charges of forcing his followers to join the People Power Party (PPP) as members.
The joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, which is probing corruption involving the collusion between religion and politics, announced today (June 29) that it has "indicted Lee while under arrest for violations of the Political Parties Act and other charges, focusing on aspects of the criminal allegations where the statute of limitations is nearing expiration."
Lee is accused of forcing his followers to register as party members between 2021 and 2024 with the intent to influence the People Power Party's presidential and general election primaries.
Article 42 of the Political Parties Act prohibits the coercion of individuals to join or withdraw from a political party.
The joint investigation team estimates that Shincheonji encouraged its followers to join the People Power Party under various names, such as the "Pilates Project," for each branch, and that at least 56,472 members joined the party.
Investigations revealed that 6,482 members joined between July and September 2021 ahead of the 20th presidential election, followed by 2,873 in January 2022, 35,073 between December 2022 and January 2023, and 12,044 between September 2023 and January 2024.
The investigation team explained that it prioritized the indictment of the party registration activities from July 2021, as the statute of limitations (five years) for the violation of the Political Parties Act was approaching.
The joint investigation team requested an arrest warrant for Lee on June 22 on charges including violation of the Political Parties Act.
The 95-year-old Lee denied all allegations and cited health issues due to his advanced age, but the court issued the warrant, citing concerns over the destruction of evidence.
It is reported that during the investigation, the team also uncovered circumstances suggesting that a former high-ranking official of Shincheonji handed over a list and the number of members who had joined the party to an official from the then-presidential campaign of Yoon Suk-yeol.
The allegations suggest that an official surnamed Oh, who served as the head of the campaign's network headquarters, provided the list of members to Shincheonji officials ahead of the People Power Party's national convention in October 2022, and that the list was provided to Oh with Lee's approval.
The joint investigation team is currently questioning the detained Lee to determine whether there were requests or involvement from the political sphere behind the organized directive to have members join the party.
The team also plans to examine whether Lee was involved in embezzlement amounting to 10 billion won that occurred within the church, led by former Shincheonji secretary-general Go Dong-an.
An official from the joint investigation team stated, "We will continue to conduct a strict and swift investigation into the remaining criminal allegations and the detained accomplices."
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