South Korea arrests Shincheonji leader in election interference probe

South Korean authorities arrested Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, after a Seoul court issued a warrant in a widening probe into whether church officials steered tens of thousands of followers into the conservative People Power Party to sway elections.

Lee appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday afternoon with a cane and help from a church official, then did not answer reporters’ questions. The court later approved the arrest warrant on the ground that he posed a risk of destroying evidence. A joint police-prosecutor task force led by Kim Tae-hoon, a senior prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors’ Office, had requested the warrant on June 22, after questioning Lee at the task force office in southern Seoul on June 4.

The alleged effort reached more than 50,000 Shincheonji followers between 2021 and 2024. Senior church figures ordered members to join the People Power Party in an organized drive that extended beyond the 2022 presidential race and the party’s 2023 convention. Some branches used an internal project name, “Pilates,” to coordinate the enrollment push.

Authorities are also examining whether the campaign was meant to win favorable treatment for the church, including permits to expand facilities. Shincheonji has denied the allegations and puts its membership at roughly 200,000.

Yoon was removed from office after imposing martial law in December 2024 and later convicted of rebellion-related charges. Prosecutors have spent months probing alleged ties between religious groups and politicians, including possible election interference and attempts to win influence inside conservative circles.

If Yoon is finally convicted of election-law violations and fined at least 1 million won, the party could be forced to return about 39.7 billion won in election reimbursements.

Hak Ja Han, the church’s leader, faced arrest proceedings over allegations that church officials bribed former first lady Kim Keon-hee and People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, while former international operations director Yun Young-ho had already been indicted.