Lee Man-hee (; born 15 September 1931) is a Korean religious leader. Lee is the founder of the

Shincheonji Church of Jesus Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (SCJ), commonly known as Shincheonji Church of Jesus or simply Shincheonji (; ), is a denomination of Christian new religious movement established in South Korea by Lee ...

, a South Korean Christian group that is often described as a cult. Lee is a self-proclaimed messiah, whose followers believe he is immortal and infallible.

Early life

Lee was born on 15 September 1931 in Punggak-myeon,

Cheongdo County Cheongdo County (''Cheongdo-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is connected to the national transportation grid by the Gyeongbu Line railroad and the Daegu-Busan Expressway. The seat of government is located in the ...

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

(

Keishōhoku-dō was a former province of Korea under Japanese rule, with its capital at Taikyū (contemporary Daegu, South Korea). The province consisted of what is now the South Korean province of North Gyeongsang. Population Number of people by nationalit ...

Japanese Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offici ...

. Before founding his own religious movement, he was a member of the group known as

Olive Tree The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

and of another movement called the (장막성전). During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Lee served in the 7th Infantry Division of the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

; after the war he returned to Punggak Village and worked as a farmer.

COVID-19 outbreak

On 22 February 2020, South Korea confirmed that 231 of their 433 cases of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

were from within the Shincheonji sect. Lee called the coronavirus a "devil's deed" intended to stop the sect's growth, but he canceled all gatherings of his faith. The

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA; ), formerly Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC, ), is an organization under the South Korean Ministry of Welfare and Health that is responsible for the advancement of public ...

said the practice of gathering followers in close quarters for religious services may have contributed to the fast spread of the disease. On 1 March 2020, Seoul mayor

Park Won-soon Park Won-soon ( ko, 박원순; March 26, 1956July 9, 2020) was a South Korean politician, activist, and lawyer. His term ended when he took his own life due to a sexual harassment scandal. He was the longest-serving mayor of Seoul, from 2011 un ...

announced that the

Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Government d ...

had made a criminal complaint about Lee, asking for an investigation into him and twelve others connected to the sect on charges of murder and violations of the Disease Control Act, citing their negligence in preventing an outbreak among their parishioners and their refusal to cooperate with the government throughout the crisis. On 31 July 2020, Lee was arrested by South Korean authorities for allegedly violating the ''Infectious Disease and Control Act''. At issue was a dispute over withholding data from the government for contact tracing, with the church asserting privacy. Lee was also charged with embezzlement and other crimes. By this time, the Shincheonji Church was being linked to more than 5,200 coronavirus infections, or 36% of South Korea’s total cases. On 13 January 2021 Suwon District Court in Seoul acquitted Lee of violating the infectious disease laws. However Lee was convicted of embezzling 5.6 billion won ($4.7m USD) and obstruction of public affairs. Lee was sentenced to three years in prison. He remains out of jail on probation for four years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Man-hee 1931 births Living people South Korean religious leaders Founders of new religious movements People from North Gyeongsang Province Self-declared messiahs Jeonju Yi clan