▲ Lee Man-hee, the leader of Shincheonji, who is accused of violating the Political Parties Act, arrives at the joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the 4th to be questioned as a suspect.
The joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters (led by Kim Tae-hoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office), which is investigating allegations of corruption involving the collusion between religion and politics, has moved to secure the detention of Lee Man-hee, the leader of Shincheonji, regarding the "mass enrollment of party members into the People Power Party."
The joint investigation team requested an arrest warrant for Lee today (June 22) on charges of violating the Political Parties Act and obstruction of business in connection with the case involving the forced enrollment of Shincheonji members into a specific political party.
Lee is accused of forcing followers to join the People Power Party with the intention of influencing the party's presidential and general election primaries between 2021 and 2024.
The joint investigation team believes that Shincheonji encouraged its followers to join the People Power Party under project names such as "Pilates Project" at each branch, and as a result, more than 50,000 followers joined the party as members.
The team also applied charges of obstruction of business, concluding that this organized party enrollment activity hindered the election-related operations of the People Power Party.
The joint investigation team previously requested arrest warrants for three individuals, including former general secretary Go Dong-an, known as the "number two" of Shincheonji, and former general secretaries of the John and Simon branches, on the same charges, successfully securing their detention for the first time since the team's launch.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.