Shincheonji leader indicted for forcing members to join People Power Party

Lee Man-hee, chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, has been indicted on charges of coercing church members into joining the People Power Party. Current and former Shincheonji executives are also set to stand trial on the same charges.

A joint investigative task force indicted Lee on Monday on charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstruction of business, with a detention order. Three other detained individuals — former Secretary-General Ko Dong-an and former secretaries-general of the John and Simon branches — were also referred to trial on the same charges.

Four additional Shincheonji executives identified as having participated in the scheme were indicted without detention.

Lee is accused of forcing church members to join the People Power Party between 2021 and 2024 with the aim of influencing the party's presidential and general election primaries.

Article 42 of the Political Parties Act prohibits compelling a person to join or leave a political party.

Investigators believe Shincheonji encouraged members across its branches to enroll in the People Power Party under project names such as "Pilates Project," with at least 56,472 members ultimately joining the party.

The enrollment began in July 2021, ahead of the 20th presidential election, when 6,482 members signed up. That was followed by 2,873 in December 2021, 35,073 in December 2022 and 12,044 in August 2023.

The task force first indicted the July 2021 enrollment on June 29, as the five-year statute of limitations under the Political Parties Act was approaching. The remaining charges were referred to trial Monday after additional investigation.

Investigators found that Lee ordered the scheme because he believed the church needed political connections to resolve various issues surrounding the denomination.

Ko and other current and former executives systematically participated in the scheme by relaying Lee's instructions to individual branches, pressing them to meet membership targets and tracking enrollment progress.

During the investigation, the task force also found indications that a former Shincheonji executive had passed a list of enrolled members and their numbers to a staffer in Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential campaign at the time. Investigators said, however, they found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in that exchange.

A separate investigation into alleged embezzlement of 10 billion won ($6.64 million) within the church, led by former Secretary-General Ko, is set to continue.

The task force said it would also pursue other allegations, including illegal political donations using Unification Church funds, embezzlement and Shincheonji's tax evasion.