European scholars of religion are making strong appeals to the South Korean government to release Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old Chairman of Shincheonji Church, who remains in detention.

Chairman Lee was detained on 24 June on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act and was indicted on 29 June. 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.

In response, Shincheonji Church stated that individual members freely participated in political activities and that both Chairman Lee and the church have faithfully cooperated throughout the entire investigation process. The church expressed deep regret, stating that detaining Chairman Lee, an elderly man aged 95, amounts in effect to a form of physical punishment.

The European Academy of Religion (EuARe) held its Ninth Annual Conference in Rome, Italy, on 3 July, where the circumstances surrounding Shincheonji Church were addressed during a session titled “Shincheonji, a Korean New Religion in Global Context.”

Dr. Massimo Introvigne, Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), said: “What Korea is doing to this elderly religious leader is in violation of international law, including the United Nations’ so-called Mandela Rules. So what is happening is an unmitigated scandal, which hides a political and religious vendetta.”

Eric Roux, President of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF), added: “A man of 95 years old being put in jail is not something that you can reconcile with the objective of respecting human dignity. I would suggest that this be reviewed very fast, which is please, get that man out of jail and do it now.”

Human rights lawyer Alessandro Amicarelli, Chairman of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), said: “We cannot accept that a religious leader in a democratic country, at the age of 95, has to be under this kind of pressure.”

The detention has also been raised at the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (Document No. A/HRC/62/NGO/236), where international human rights organizations assessed that framing members’ registration with a political party as “religion-politics collusion” is inconsistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

SCJ TV is the official broadcasting channel of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. Contact: press@scjtvglobal.com

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