Lee Man-hee

For the film director, see Lee Man-hee (director).

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Man-hee
Born	(1931-09-15) 15 September 1931 (age 93) Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, Japanese Korea
Nationality	South Korean
Occupation	Cult leader
Korean name
Hangul	이만희
Hanja	李萬熙
Revised Romanization	I Manhui
McCune–Reischauer	Yi Manhŭi
Signature

Lee Man-hee (Korean: 이만희; Hanja: 李萬熙; born 15 September 1931) is a South Korean cult^[1][2][3] leader. Lee is the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a South Korean religious group with teachings derived from Christianity that is considered a pseudoreligion or cult by mainstream Christian churches.^[4][5] Lee is a self-proclaimed messiah, whose followers believe he is immortal and infallible.^[6][7]

Early life

Lee was born on 15 September 1931 in Punggak-myeon, Cheongdo County, North Gyeongsang Province (Keishōhoku-dō), Japanese Korea, Empire of Japan. Before founding his own religious movement, he was a member of the group known as Olive Tree and of another movement called the Tabernacle Temple [ko] (장막성전).^[8]

Lee claimed to have served as a sergeant in the 7th Infantry Division of the Republic of Korea Army during the Korean War; however, there is no clear evidence to support this assertion.^[9] After the war, he returned to Punggak Village and worked as a farmer.^[10]

COVID-19 outbreak

Main article: COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea

On 22 February 2020, South Korea confirmed that 231 of their 433 cases of COVID-19 were from within the Shincheonji sect.^[11] Lee called the coronavirus a "devil's deed" intended to stop the sect's growth, but he canceled all gatherings of his faith. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the practice of gathering followers in close quarters for religious services may have contributed to the fast spread of the disease.^[12]

On 1 March 2020, Seoul mayor Park Won-soon announced that the Seoul Metropolitan Government had made a criminal complaint about Lee, asking for an investigation into him and twelve others connected to the sect on charges of murder and violations of the Disease Control Act, citing their negligence in preventing an outbreak among their parishioners and their refusal to cooperate with the government throughout the crisis.^[13]

On 31 July 2020, Lee was arrested by South Korean authorities for allegedly violating the Infectious Disease and Control Act. At issue was a dispute over withholding data from the government for contact tracing, with the church asserting privacy. Lee was also charged with embezzlement and other crimes. By this time, the Shincheonji Church was being linked to more than 5,200 coronavirus infections or 36% of South Korea’s total cases.^[14][15] On 13 January 2021 Suwon District Court in Seoul acquitted Lee of violating the infectious disease laws. However, Lee was convicted of embezzling 5.6 billion won ($4.7m USD) and obstruction of public affairs. Lee was sentenced to three years in prison. He remains out of jail on probation for four years.^[16]

Controversies

Adoptive son's threat controversy

Kwon Tae-ryeong, head of the "Recover Alliance for Victims of Heretical Religions and Human Rights" (Recover), has alleged that Yoo Chun-soon, the legal wife of Shincheonji leader Lee Man-hee, was forcibly admitted to a nursing hospital. He further claimed that Lee’s adopted son, Lee ○○, demanded Yoo disclose her bank account password, which she reportedly refused. According to Gong Hee-sook, a former instructor and whistleblower, Yoo’s assets are estimated to be worth 3.1 billion KRW.^[17]

Sued for sexual exploitation under authority

Gong Hee-sook, a former instructor, has filed a lawsuit against Lee Man-hee, the leader of Shincheonji, accusing him of sexual exploitation under the pretext of his authority. Gong, who joined Shincheonji in 1992, claims that between 1997 and 2002, she was sexually exploited by Lee. Within Shincheonji, Lee was considered an individual with absolute authority, and Gong asserts that she could not resist this authority. Although Gong did not initially recognize the sexual exploitation due to the church's teachings and Lee's authority, she came to realize the abuse after leaving the organization in 2022, leading her to file the lawsuit. Shincheonji, however, denies Gong's allegations and educates its members that her claims are false. Gong has stated that she will continue fighting to ensure that no more victims emerge.^[18]

Publications

• The Truth of Revelation (1985)
• The Complete Interpretation of Revelation (1986)
• The Truth of Revelation 2 (1988)
• The Reality of Revelation (1993)
• The Reality of the Book of Revelation (2005)
• The Acts of Jesus Christ (2006)
• The Creation of Heaven and Earth (2007)
• Revelation and Commentary (2008)
• The Hall of Truth I (2009), II (2010), III (2011)

References

1. Rashid, Raphael (March 9, 2020). "Being Called a Cult Is One Thing, Being Blamed for an Epidemic Is Quite Another". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020.
2. McKay, Hollie (August 20, 2020). "Conservative church claims South Korea's government is persecuting them by blaming members for coronavirus spread". Fox News.
3. "Inside the South Korean 'doomsday cult' recruiting young Black Christians in the UK". The Independent. 2022-08-09. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
4. Webster, Nick (May 28, 2015). "Mystery surrounds visit to UAE of alleged religious cult". The National (Abu Dhabi).
5. Bergsma, Martijn (November 17, 2014). "How I ended up in a Korean religious cult - Council of the European Union-Youth for Exchange and Understanding-participant". yeu-international.org. Archived from the original on 2014-12-23.
6. Shim, Kyu-Seok; Moon, Hee-Chul (2020-08-02). "Shincheonji Church leader jailed on obstruction charges". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
7. Shin, Hyonhee (January 13, 2021). "S.Korea church leader acquitted on charge of blocking virus effort -Yonhap". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2024. Lee Man-hee, a self-proclaimed messiah who founded and heads the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, had been accused of violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act by providing incomplete lists of church members requested by health authorities to trace suspected coronavirus infections.
8. Kim, David W.; Bang, Won-il (2019). "Guwonpa, WMSCOG, and Shincheonji: Three Dynamic Grassroots Groups in Contemporary Korean Christian NRM History". Religions. 10 (3): 212. doi:10.3390/rel10030212. hdl:1885/204914..
9. "이만희, 박근혜 정부 때 참전유공자 등록…83세에 신청, 왜?". Newsis. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
10. "뉴질랜드 기독교인을 표적으로 삼은 한국 종파. 교회는 효과적으로 대응했을까?". Christianity Today. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
11. McGee, Luke (22 February 2020). "A controversial religious group is at the center of South Korea's coronavirus outbreak". CNN. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
12. Kim, Min Joo (21 February 2020). "South Korean coronavirus spike linked to doomsday sect with messianic leader". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
13. Cha, Sangmi (2 March 2020). "Murder probe sought for South Korea sect at center of coronavirus outbreak". Reuters. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
14. "South Korea sect leader arrested over coronavirus outbreak". Reuters. Seoul. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
15. "Shincheonji: Coronavirus: South Korean Shincheonji sect leader arrested". BBC. Seoul. August 1, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
16. "Shincheonji: Korean sect leader found not guilty of breaking virus law". BBC. Seoul. January 13, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
17. Park, In Jae (16 November 2024). "신천지 이만희 교주 본처 유천순, 요양병원에 강제 입원 의혹 충격" [Shincheonji Leader Lee Man-hee’s Legal Wife, Yoo Chun-soon, Allegedly Forced into Nursing Home Care]. Amen News (in Korean). Retrieved 19 November 2024.
18. Oh, Myung Ok (21 November 2024). "신천지 이만희 '권력형성범죄' 혐의 피소... 고소인, "신천지라는 사기판, 이젠 그만 접어야"" [Shincheonji Leader Lee Man-hee Faces Lawsuit on Charges of "Power-Based Crimes"… Complainant Says, "The Fraudulent Scheme of Shincheonji Must End Now"]. Church and Heresy (in Korean). Retrieved 22 November 2024.