Seoul: A trial for Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious sect, will begin later this month on charges that he had forced followers to join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ahead of elections, legal sources said Tuesday. The Seoul Central District Court has scheduled the trial's first hearing for July 24, according to the sources.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee is charged with coercing at least 56,472 church members to join the PPP between July 2021 and January 2024. The aim was to influence the outcome of the party's 2022 presidential primary and the 2024 general election primaries. A joint police-prosecution task force indicted Lee under physical detention on June 29, initially applying charges related to the forced memberships in July 2021, as the five-year statute of limitations was approaching.