Court: "Difficult to conclude intentional omission of congregation list and facility status... Use of offerings is embezzlement"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Lee Man-hee, the 91-year-old chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), who was indicted for obstructing COVID-19 quarantine measures, has been acquitted. However, some charges including embezzlement and obstruction of business were partially upheld, resulting in a suspended prison sentence.
The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) on the 12th upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing Chairman Lee to three years in prison with a five-year suspension in the appeal trial on charges including violation of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.
Chairman Lee was prosecuted for allegedly conspiring with executives to underreport the number of believers and meeting locations to quarantine authorities when COVID-19 spread centered around Shincheonji in February 2020.
He is also accused of embezzling about 5 billion KRW of church funds during the construction of the Peace Palace, Shincheonji's training center, totaling 5.6 billion KRW. Additionally, he faced charges of illegally using public facilities such as Suwon World Cup Stadium from 2015 to 2019 for Shincheonji commemorative events without permission.
The prosecution based the indictment on the premise that the submission of the believer list and other materials constituted an epidemiological investigation, and the trial focused on whether the believer list qualified as epidemiological investigation data.
The first trial court did not recognize Chairman Lee's obstruction of quarantine duties, reasoning that the full believer list and facility status requested by quarantine authorities were not subject to epidemiological investigation. However, it partially acknowledged charges of embezzlement of Shincheonji funds and illegal use of public facilities, sentencing him to three years in prison with a four-year suspension.
The appellate court similarly ruled that it was difficult to conclude that Chairman Lee deliberately omitted the believer list and facility status, acquitting him of violating the Infectious Disease Prevention Act as in the first trial. Nevertheless, for other charges such as embezzlement and obstruction of business, the court sentenced him to three years in prison with a five-year suspension, citing reasons including betrayal of believers' trust by using offerings personally, and leading unauthorized events at Suwon World Cup Stadium, which worsened the nature of the crimes compared to the first trial.
The Supreme Court also agreed with the appellate court's judgment.
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