Shincheonji Leader Lee Man-hee, 95, Arrested Over Alleged Pressure to Join People Power Party

Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, has been arrested on charges of coercing his followers into joining the People Power Party (PPP) en masse.

Despite his advanced age of 95, the court recognized the necessity of his detention.

On June 24, Judge Kim Jin-man of the Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrant following a pre-detention interrogation, stating that there is "a risk of destruction of evidence" regarding the charges, which include violations of the Political Parties Act.

This marks the arrest of the "key figure" in the Shincheonji-related allegations, 169 days after the joint investigation team of prosecutors and police was launched on January 6 to probe suspicions of collusion between religion and politics.

Lee is accused of forcing followers to join the 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 withdraw from a political party.

The joint investigation team estimates that Shincheonji encouraged its followers to join the PPP under various names, such as the "Pilates Project," for each branch, and that at least 56,472 followers registered as party members.

Investigators suspect that Shincheonji organized the mass party enrollment to resolve various internal issues, including the change of use for church buildings.

During the investigation, the team uncovered that the orders to join the party were passed down from Lee through a chain of command: General Secretary → Branch Leaders → Church Pastors → Senior, Women's, and Youth Associations.

It is reported that the investigation team secured testimony that ahead of the 2022 presidential election, Lee told leaders of the national senior, youth, and women's associations, "Yoon Suk-yeol must become president. I would like for you to have followers join the People Power Party as dues-paying members."

Following the request for the warrant, Shincheonji had protested, claiming that "despite his advanced age, he has faithfully cooperated with the investigation, and there is no risk of flight or destruction of evidence." However, after reviewing arguments from both sides, the court determined that detention was necessary and issued the warrant.

The joint investigation team plans to question the detained leader to determine whether there were any requests or involvement from the political sphere behind the organized directive for followers to join the party.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.