▲ Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, appears at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital on June 24, 2026, to attend an arrest warrant hearing over allegations he forced followers to join the main opposition People Power Party. (Yonhap)

sect leader-arrest warrant

Shincheonji sect leader attends arrest warrant hearing over forced PPP memberships

SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- The founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, attended a court hearing Wednesday on his potential arrest over allegations he forced followers to join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ahead of elections in 2021 and 2024.

Lee Man-hee, 95, arrived at the Seoul Central District Court, using a walking stick, after a prosecution-police task force requested a warrant to arrest him on charges of obstruction of business and violations of the Political Parties Act.

Lee is suspected of forcing at least 56,472 church members to join the PPP between July 2021 and January 2024 with the intention of swaying the outcome of the party's presidential primary in 2021 and general election primaries in 2024.

In return, he allegedly sought various favors for the church, including the repurposing of the church building.

The period of the alleged forced memberships largely overlaps with when the PPP was the ruling party, with former President Yoon Suk Yeol in office.

Lee has reportedly denied the allegations.

The court will determine after the hearing whether to grant the arrest warrant.

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