Religious sect leader indicted over forced PPP memberships
Lee Man-hee, chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho, Seoul, June 24, to attend a pretrial detention hearing. Yonhap
The founder of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, was indicted under detention Monday, over allegations that he forced followers to join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ahead of the political party's elections.
The sect's leader, Lee Man-hee, was indicted on charges of obstruction of business and violations of the Political Parties Act, according to the joint police-prosecution task force.
The move follows an indictment against Lee in June, which came as the five-year statute of limitations for Lee's alleged forced enrollment of church members into a political party in July 2021 was approaching.
The 94-year-old is suspected of forcing at least 56,000 church members to join the PPP between July 2021 and January 2024, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the party's 2022 presidential primary and 2024 general election primaries.
Some 6,482 sect followers were found to have joined the PPP in July 2021, followed by 2,873 followers in December 2021 and around 12,044 in August 2023.
The period of the alleged forced enrollments largely overlaps with the time when the PPP was the ruling party under former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Along with Lee, seven former and current executives of the sect were indicted as well, with three of them detained, the task force added.