Prosecutors Arrest 89-Year-Old Lee Man-hee, Shincheonji Chairman, for 'COVID-19 Quarantine Obstruction'... "Concern Over Evidence Tampering Despite Age and Chronic Illness"

President Lee Man-hee holding a press conference related to COVID-19 at the Shincheonji Peace Training Center in Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do on March 2nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Lee Man-hee, the 89-year-old chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), was finally arrested on charges of obstructing COVID-19 quarantine activities by submitting false lists of believers and other methods.

The court found that some of the criminal charges against Chairman Lee were substantiated and that there was a concern about further evidence destruction. Although he is elderly and has underlying health conditions, the court judged that imprisonment was not impossible for him.

Lee Myeong-cheol, the warrant judge at Suwon District Court who conducted the pre-arrest detention hearing for Chairman Lee, issued an arrest warrant in the early hours of the 1st.

The judge stated, “Although there is some room for dispute regarding the criminal facts, certain charges have been substantiated. During the investigation, there were signs of organized evidence destruction, and considering the suspect’s position within the religious organization, it is difficult to rule out the risk of additional evidence destruction in the future.”

He added, “Despite his advanced age and underlying health issues, it does not appear that imprisonment would be extremely difficult for him.”

The judge conducted the detention hearing for a lengthy 8 hours and 30 minutes from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. the previous day and issued the arrest warrant around 1:20 a.m. that day.

After the hearing, Chairman Lee was transferred to Suwon Detention Center to await the result and was immediately detained.

On the 28th of last month, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Chairman Lee on charges including violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act and embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Chairman Lee is accused of conspiring with Shincheonji executives in February, when COVID-19 rapidly spread mainly among Shincheonji believers, to report reduced lists of believers and meeting locations to quarantine authorities.

He is also charged with embezzling approximately 5 billion KRW of church funds during the construction of the Peace Palace, Shincheonji’s training center, totaling 5.6 billion KRW in embezzlement.

Additionally, he is accused of holding religious events in public facilities without approval from local governments from 2015 to last year.

The prosecution previously arrested and indicted three general affairs staff members belonging to the Shincheonji Gwacheon Headquarters and indicted four other executives without detention. Chairman Lee is expected to stand trial alongside them.

The prosecution began investigating after receiving a complaint against Chairman Lee from the National Shincheonji Victims Solidarity (Jeonpiyeon) on February 27.

On May 22, the investigation escalated to a forced search and seizure with raids on the Shincheonji Gwacheon Headquarters and the Peace Palace in Gapyeong.

During the investigation, the prosecution confirmed discrepancies between the data submitted by Shincheonji and that secured by quarantine authorities, leading to the arrest and prosecution of key Shincheonji executives.

Chairman Lee was summoned for questioning twice on the 17th and 23rd of last month, and the arrest warrant was requested on the 28th.

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