Lee Man-hee (; born 15 September 1931) is a South Korean cult leader. Lee is the founder of the

Shincheonji Church of Jesus Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (SCJ), commonly known as Shincheonji Church of Jesus or simply Shincheonji (; ), is a new religious movement established in South Korea by Lee Man-hee. It is considered ...

, a South Korean religious group with teachings derived from Christianity that is considered a pseudoreligion or

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

by mainstream Christian churches. Lee is a self-proclaimed

messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, whose followers believe he is immortal and infallible.

Early life

Lee was born on 15 September 1931 in Punggak-myeon,

Cheongdo County Cheongdo County (''Cheongdo-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is connected to the national transportation grid by the Gyeongbu Line railroad and the Daegu-Busan Expressway. The seat of government is located in the ...

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

( Keishōhoku-dō),

Japanese Korea From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. Before founding his own religious movement, he was a member of the group known as

Olive Tree The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

and of another movement called the Tabernacle Temple (장막성전). Lee claimed to have served as a sergeant in the 7th Infantry Division of the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

; however, there is no clear evidence to support this assertion. After the war, he returned to Punggak Village and worked as a farmer.

COVID-19 outbreak

On 22 February 2020, South Korea confirmed that 231 of their 433 cases of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

were from within the Shincheonji sect. 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 Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA; ), formerly Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC, ), is an organization under the South Korean Ministry of Welfare and Health that is responsible for the advancement of public ...

said the practice of gathering followers in close quarters for religious services may have contributed to the fast spread of the disease. On 1 March 2020, Seoul mayor

Park Won-soon Park Won-soon (; February 11, 1955 or March 26, 1956July 9, 2020) was a South Korean politician, activist, and lawyer. He was the longest-serving mayor of Seoul, from 2011 until his death in July 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Kore ...

announced that the

Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government () is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Governmen ...

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. 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. 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.

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, 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.

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.

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Man-hee 1931 births Living people South Korean religious leaders Founders of new religious movements People from North Gyeongsang Province Self-declared messiahs Jeonju Yi clan