Detained at 95: South Korea's Prosecution of a Religious Leader Draws International Alarm

CANBERRA, Australia - Rezul -- International attention is growing over the detention and prosecution of Chairman Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old leader of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and remarks by South Korea's Minister of Justice, Jeong Seong-ho.

On June 30, Minister Jeong announced on media that Chairman Lee had been indicted while in detention, writing that "strict criminal punishment corresponding to its responsibility is inevitable." He concluded by quoting Matthew 7:15: "Beware of false prophets." Shincheonji is a Christian denomination founded in South Korea in 1984.

Italian sociologist of religion Dr. Massimo Introvigne published two articles in the religious-freedom and human-rights outlet Bitter Winter: the first on June 24 criticizing Chairman Lee's detention, and the second on July 2 criticizing Minister Jeong's remarks.

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Chairman Lee was taken into custody on June 24 on charges including violation of Political Parties Act and formally indicted on June 30. Prosecutors allege that between July 2021 and January 2024, Lee organized the enrollment of roughly 50,000 Shincheonji members into the People Power Party (PPP) to influence presidential and parliamentary primaries.

Dr. Introvigne argued that detaining a 95-year-old religious leader in a non-violent case falls short of proportionality standards reflected in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the "Mandela Rules") and the principles of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, describing the case as "a stain on South Korea's democratic credentials."

He linked the case to Han Hak-ja, the 83-year-old leader of the Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification), warning that "this isn't an issue confined to a single religious group—a pattern emerging in which physical detention is repeatedly used against elderly religious leaders."

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Shincheonji said "Chairman Lee and the church have fully cooperated with every stage of the investigation," calling the detention "in effect a physical punishment imposed on a 95-year-old suspect."

Dr. Introvigne said Minister Jeong's call for "strict criminal punishment" on the day of indictment risks appearing to prejudge the outcome before trial. He argued that quoting a verse that could cast the defendant negatively may conflict with the state's duty of religious neutrality.

The legal issue is whether Shincheonji members were coerced into joining a political party. Prosecutors allege a forced-enrollment campaign, while Shincheonji maintains members joined voluntarily.

Dr. Introvigne said the trial depend on evidence used to prove coercion, warning the charges risk criminalizing civic participation by members of a religious minority. He added the case is being watched internationally as a test of whether a democratic state applies equal standards of due process, rule of law, and human rights to minority religious groups.

https://www.shincheonji.org/en