DALLAS, TX — The detention of Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old Chairman of Shincheonji Church, has sparked international outcry from European scholars of religion who are urging the South Korean government to release him. Lee was detained on 24 June on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act and 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.
Shincheonji Church has responded by stating that individual members freely participated in political activities and that both Chairman Lee and the church have fully cooperated with the investigation. The church expressed deep regret over the detention, arguing that detaining an elderly man of 95 years constitutes a form of physical punishment.
The concerns were amplified at the Ninth Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) in Rome, Italy, on 3 July. In a session titled "Shincheonji, a Korean New Religion in Global Context," scholars presented papers on Shincheonji Church and discussed the recent situation in South Korea, including Lee's detention. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, a sociologist of religion and Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), commented: "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, if there is a risk of actual violence connected with blood crimes. Here, of course, there are no blood crimes, and the accusations are violations of electoral law." He added that the detention violates international law, including the United Nations' so-called Mandela Rules, which state that preliminary detention should be exceptional, especially for elderly prisoners. He called it "an unmitigated scandal, which hides a political and religious vendetta."
Eric Roux, President of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF), reiterated the injustice: "A man of 95 years old being put in jail is not something that you can reconcile with the objective of respecting human dignity. Even if what you pretend he has done is true, you would not put a man of this age in prison as is the case now. So I would suggest that this be reviewed very fast to avoid something that would be very detrimental to the reputation of South Korea, 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), expressed shock, saying, "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. We cannot accept that a religious leader in a democratic country, at the age of 95, has to be under this kind of pressure." He added, "What we're seeing right now looks like South Korea is departing from its own Constitution, its own human rights foundation."
The international dimension was further highlighted by a joint written statement submitted to the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 25 May by United for Human Rights and Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP-LC). The statement (Document No. A/HRC/62/NGO/236) assessed that "the situation has intensified" in South Korea and noted that framing members' registration with a political party as evidence of "religion–politics collusion" is inconsistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The organizations also pointed to the creation of a joint police–prosecutor task force explicitly targeting Shincheonji and public references to the church as a "criminal organization," which they said are incompatible with the presumption of innocence. They urged the South Korean government to reaffirm its commitment to freedom of religion, non-discrimination, and state neutrality.
Shincheonji Church noted that international support and petitions for Lee's release are growing, increasing pressure on the South Korean government and judiciary. The church emphasized that "The prompt release of Chairman Lee is a matter of safeguarding freedom of religion and human rights, which are core values of democracy."
