The detention of Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old Chairman of Shincheonji Church, has drawn sharp criticism from European scholars of religion and human rights experts, who are calling for his immediate release. Lee was detained on June 24 on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act and indicted on June 29. The Joint Police–Prosecution Investigation Headquarters alleges that between July 2021 and January 2024, he directed the mass registration of approximately 50,000 church members into a particular political party. Shincheonji Church has denied the allegations, stating that individual members freely participated in political activities and that both Lee and the church have cooperated with the investigation.
At the Ninth Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) held in Rome on July 3, European scholars discussed the situation. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, a sociologist of religion and founder of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), stated that "in all European Union countries, legislation mandates that those older than 80, only exceptionally, should be put in jail; they should be under house arrest if needed, and only for violent crimes." He emphasized that the accusations against Lee are non-violent, and that "what Korea is doing to this elderly religious leader is in violation of international law, including the United Nations' so-called Mandela Rules."
Eric Roux, President of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF), echoed these concerns: "A man of 95 years old being put in jail is not something that you can reconcile with the objective of respecting human dignity." He urged the South Korean government to "review this very fast to avoid something that would be very detrimental to the reputation of South Korea."
Human rights lawyer Alessandro Amicarelli, chairman of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), expressed shock: "As a human rights lawyer, I always considered South Korea a true democracy where human rights are upheld like a foundation of the democracy. Unfortunately, what's happening now is truly shocking." He added that the detention "looks like South Korea is departing from its own Constitution, its own human rights foundation."
Shincheonji Church emphasized that the detention has become an international human rights issue. On May 25, the international human rights organizations United for Human Rights and Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP-LC) submitted a joint written statement to the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (Document No. A/HRC/62/NGO/236). The statement argued that framing members' political party registration as "religion–politics collusion" violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees every citizen the right to participate in political life. The statement also noted that "senior officials have publicly referred to Shincheonji as a 'criminal organization,' statements incompatible with the presumption of innocence."
The church stated that "as support and petitions from prominent figures in the international community continue to grow, pressure on the South Korean government and the judiciary is also mounting." It called for Lee's prompt release, asserting that it is "a matter of safeguarding freedom of religion and human rights, which are core values of democracy."
For more information about Shincheonji Church, visit Shincheonji.org or SCJ TV Global.
