The detention of Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old Chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, has drawn sharp criticism from European scholars of religion and human rights experts, who say the action violates international law and tarnishes South Korea's reputation as a democracy.
Chairman Lee was detained on June 24 on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act, and 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. Shincheonji Church has stated that individual members freely participated in political activities and that both Chairman Lee and the church have cooperated fully with the investigation.
At the Ninth Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) held in Rome on July 3, the situation was addressed during a session titled "Shincheonji, a Korean New Religion in Global Context." Dr. Massimo Introvigne, a sociologist of religion and founder of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), stated: "In all European Union countries, legislation mandates that those older than 80, only exceptionally, should be put in jail... Here, of course, there are no blood crimes, and the accusations are violations of electoral law." He added that the detention violates the United Nations' Mandela Rules, which limit preliminary detention and restrict its application to elderly prisoners.
Eric Roux, president of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF), said: "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." He urged a swift review to avoid damage to South Korea's reputation.
Human rights lawyer Alessandro Amicarelli, chairman of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), expressed shock: "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."
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 statement to the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on May 25, noting that framing members' political registration as "religion–politics collusion" is inconsistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The statement also highlighted that in December 2025, the president ordered a joint police–prosecutor task force explicitly targeting Shincheonji, and senior officials have publicly referred to the church as a "criminal organization," undermining the presumption of innocence.
Shincheonji Church emphasized that the detention has escalated into an international human rights issue, with growing calls for Chairman Lee's release from prominent figures worldwide. "The prompt release of Chairman Lee is a matter of safeguarding freedom of religion and human rights, which are core values of democracy," the church stated.
