The detention of Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old Chairman of the Shincheonji Church, has drawn sharp criticism from European scholars of religion, who are calling on the South Korean government to release him. The scholars argue that detaining an elderly person over non-violent allegations violates international law and tarnishes South Korea's democratic image.
Chairman Lee was detained on 24 June on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act and was indicted on 29 June. 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. In response, Shincheonji Church stated that individual members freely participated in political activities and that both Chairman Lee and the church have cooperated fully with the investigation. The church also expressed deep regret, stating that detaining an elderly man aged 95 amounts to a form of physical punishment.
At the Ninth Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) held in Rome on 3 July, scholars addressed the situation. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, sociologist of religion and Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), commented: "In all European Union countries, legislation mandates that those older than 80 should only exceptionally be put in jail; they should be under house arrest if needed, and only for violent crimes, if there is a risk of actual violence connected with blood crimes. Here, of course, there are no blood crimes, and the accusations are violations of electoral law." He added, "What Korea is doing to this elderly religious leader is in violation of international law, including the United Nations' so-called Mandela Rules, which mandate that preliminary detention should be, in general, not the rule, and only in an extremely limited number of exceptional cases may be applied to elderly prisoners. So what is happening is an unmitigated scandal, which hides a political and religious vendetta."
Eric Roux, President of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF), reiterated the injustice: "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 as is the case now. So I would suggest that this be reviewed very fast to avoid something that would be very detrimental to the reputation of South Korea, which is please, get that man out of jail and do it now."
Human rights lawyer Alessandro Amicarelli, Chairman of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), expressed concern: "As a human rights lawyer, I always considered South Korea a true democracy where human rights are upheld like a foundation of the democracy. 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." He added, "What we're seeing right now looks like South Korea is departing from its own Constitution, its own human rights foundation. For this reason, I'm very happy to support Shincheonji in your fight against abuse and persecution in South Korea and anywhere in the world."
The 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 written statement to the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 25 May (Document No. A/HRC/62/NGO/236; circulated on 10 June). In the statement, the organizations assessed that "the situation has intensified" in South Korea and noted that framing members' registration with a political party as evidence of "religion–politics collusion" is inconsistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees every citizen the right to participate in political life. They further stated: "In December 2025, the President ordered the creation of a joint police–prosecutor task force explicitly targeting Shincheonji... Senior officials have publicly referred to Shincheonji as a 'criminal organization,' statements incompatible with the presumption of innocence." They also urged the Government of the Republic of Korea to reaffirm its commitment to freedom of religion, non-discrimination, and state neutrality.
Shincheonji Church noted that "As support and petitions from prominent figures in the international community continue to grow regarding the detention of Chairman Lee Man-hee, pressure on the South Korean government and the judiciary is also mounting." It further said, "The prompt release of Chairman Lee is a matter of safeguarding freedom of religion and human rights, which are core values of democracy."
