[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution has officially launched an investigation into Lee Man-hee, the president of Shincheonji Church of Jesus (Shincheonji), who has been identified as the main culprit in the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
On the 28th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office assigned the case against President Lee to the Public Officials and Corporate Crime Division (Criminal Division 6). President Lee was reported to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office the day before by the National Shincheonji Victims Solidarity (Jeonpiyeon) on charges including violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. Subsequently, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office immediately assigned the case to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, considering factors such as the jurisdiction over the southern Gyeonggi region, including the Shincheonji headquarters location, and the seriousness of the matter.
Jeonpiyeon claimed in the complaint that Shincheonji is obstructing epidemiological investigations by underreporting the number of gatherings and followers, driven by fear of organizational protection and exposure of their identity, and urged the prosecution to conduct a forced investigation including a search and seizure of the church.
Jeonpiyeon pointed out, "Although they appear cooperative on the surface, they are distributing false behavioral guidelines to followers behind the scenes, and a former health center quarantine team leader who was a church member was belatedly confirmed positive and confessed to being part of Shincheonji, showing their desperate attempts to conceal their identity."
They further claimed, "President Lee is a person who, aside from his role as a heretical cult leader, has no particular ability to accumulate wealth," and suspected embezzlement in the acquisition process of real estate worth around 10 billion won involving President Lee and Kim Nam-hee, known as his former mistress. They raised issues regarding the Shincheonji training center in Goseong-ri, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, called the 'Palace of Peace,' a villa in Seonchon-ri, Gapyeong-gun, and land and buildings in Cheongpyeong-ri, Gapyeong-gun, and Hyeon-ri, Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongbuk Province.
Jeonpiyeon also raised suspicions that Shincheonji interfered in elections and created slush funds to lobby the political sphere, citing media reports such as "Leader Lee Man-hee boasted that he named the Saenuri Party" and "Organized membership recruitment and election interference during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye presidential elections."
The organization also demanded search and seizure of the Shincheonji headquarters general assembly office in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, and the Busan Jacob Branch headquarters office, which oversees the branch established in Wuhan, China, the origin of COVID-19, to clarify these suspicions.
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