▲ 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)

(LEAD) sect leader-arrest warrant

(LEAD) Court grants arrest warrant for Shincheonji sect leader over forced PPP memberships

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with court decision)

SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, over allegations he forced followers to join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ahead of elections.

The Seoul Central District Court granted the warrant for Lee Man-hee, citing concerns of destruction of evidence, after a prosecution-police task force requested the warrant on charges of obstruction of business and violations of the Political Parties Act.

The 94-year-old 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.

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