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 of Jesus, who remains in detention. Chairman Lee was detained on June 24 on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act and was indicted on June 29. 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, including the searches and seizures. The church also 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 July 3, where the circumstances surrounding Shincheonji Church were addressed. During the session titled, "Shincheonji, a Korean New Religion in Global Context," European scholars of religion presented their respective academic papers on Shincheonji Church. The recent situation in South Korea, including the detention of Chairman Lee, was also shared with participants.
Dr. Massimo Introvigne, a sociologist of religion and founder of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), commented on the detention: "In all European Union countries, legislation mandates that those older than 80 should only exceptionally be put in jail; they should be under house arrest if needed, and only for violent crimes. Here, there are no blood crimes, and the accusations are violations of electoral law. What Korea is doing to this elderly religious leader is in violation of international law, including the United Nations' so-called Mandela Rules, which mandate that preliminary detention should be not the rule, and only in an extremely limited number of exceptional cases may be applied to elderly prisoners."
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. I would suggest that this be reviewed very fast to avoid something that would be very detrimental to the reputation of South Korea."
Human rights lawyer Alessandro Amicarelli, chairman of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), expressed concern: "As a human rights lawyer, I always considered South Korea a true democracy where human rights are upheld. 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. It looks like South Korea is departing from its own Constitution, its own human rights foundation."
International human rights organizations United for Human Rights and Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP LC) submitted a joint written statement to the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on May 25 (document A/HRC/62/NGO/236 circulated on June 10). The statement 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 further stated that a joint police–prosecutor task force explicitly targeting Shincheonji and senior officials publicly referring to the church as a "criminal organization" are incompatible with the presumption of innocence.
Shincheonji Church emphasized that the detention of Chairman Lee has gone beyond academic interest and is now being raised as an international human rights issue. The church noted that "support and petitions from prominent figures in the international community continue to grow," adding that "the prompt release of Chairman Lee is a matter of safeguarding freedom of religion and human rights, which are core values of democracy."
