Shincheonji Leader Lee Man-hee Faces Arrest Hearing Over Alleged Forced Party Membership

[Anchor]

Lee Man-hee, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, who is accused of forcing his followers to join a specific political party, will undergo a detention hearing today (June 24). A decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Lee is expected as early as tonight.

Shin Yong-il reports.

[Reporter]

The Seoul Central District Court will hold a pre-arrest interrogation for Shincheonji leader Lee Man-hee, who faces charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstruction of business, starting at 2:00 p.m. today.

This comes two days after the joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, which is investigating allegations of collusion between religion and politics, requested an arrest warrant for Lee.

The joint investigation team views Lee as the central figure in the alleged collusion between Shincheonji and politics, and has moved to secure his custody about five months after the team was launched.

The investigation team suspects that Lee attempted to force his followers to register as "responsible party members" to help Yoon Suk-yeol become the presidential candidate during the People Power Party's primary in 2021. They also suspect that he forced members to join the party during the 22nd general election in 2024 to receive help in resolving church-related issues.

The team further believes that more than 50,000 Shincheonji followers joined the People Power Party after the church encouraged them to do so under the name of the "Pilates Project."

The Political Parties Act prohibits forcing individuals to join a political party against their will, and violations are punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 2 million won.

Since January, the joint investigation team has conducted raids on the Shincheonji headquarters and the People Power Party headquarters, securing lists of Shincheonji members and People Power Party members.

Based on summons and investigations of former and current Shincheonji executives, the team arrested Go Dong-an, a former general secretary known as the "number two" of Shincheonji, on the 17th.

The decision on whether to arrest Lee is expected to be reached as early as tonight.

(Video reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video editing: Choi Jin-hwa)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.