Imanhee Appeals for Bail to the Court Due to Health Reasons... First Formal Trial Next Month

Lee Man-hee, President of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji)
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Lee Man-hee, the president of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), who was arrested and indicted on charges of obstructing COVID-19 quarantine activities, appealed for a non-custodial trial.

At the third pretrial hearing held on the 28th at the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Kim Mi-kyung), Lee requested bail due to health reasons. He also argued that since his residence is clear and the prosecution had already secured a significant amount of evidence through searches and seizures, there was no risk of flight or evidence tampering. On the other hand, the prosecution reportedly opposed the bail request, stating that the case is serious and the defendant’s health condition is not immediately life-threatening.

Earlier, Lee filed a bail request through his attorney on the 18th, one day after the second pretrial hearing. The court scheduled that day as the bail hearing and listened to both parties’ opinions. The court plans to decide on the bail approval after considering the statements from both sides. Furthermore, the court will conclude the preparatory procedures with this pretrial hearing and proceed to the first trial session on the 12th of next month to begin the formal trial.

Lee was arrested and indicted on charges of violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act and obstructing official duties by deception, for conspiring with Shincheonji executives in February, when COVID-19 was spreading centered around Shincheonji, to underreport the list of believers and meeting locations to quarantine authorities. He is also accused of embezzling approximately 5 billion KRW of church funds during the construction of the Peace Palace, Shincheonji’s training center, violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and of obstructing business by holding religious events in public facilities without local government approval from 2015 to last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.