Escort convoy and court perks: Shincheonji founder faces new criticism

Lee Man-hee, the 93-year-old founder and leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, is facing criticism after a local TV station revealed that he used personal security staff to control traffic and allegedly received preferential treatment during court-ordered education sessions.

According to an exclusive report by JTBC on Thursday, Lee organized a private convoy unit known as the “Volunteer Traffic Department,” enlisting male Shincheonji members with strong driving skills to escort his vehicle using motorcycles. The exact period during which this operation took place was not disclosed.

The convoy members, despite having no legal authority, blocked civilian vehicles from passing. On one occasion, they stopped an oncoming car to allow Lee's car to make a U-turn. The motorcycles were equipped with red and blue sirens, causing ordinary citizens to believe high-ranking government officials were passing by, a Shincheonji insider told JTBC.

Under Article 39 of the country's Road Traffic Act, only emergency vehicles, including police cars and ambulances, are permitted to use sirens. Violators may face a fine of up to 3 million won ($2,211).

The report said Lee, after experiencing police escort services during a visit to the Philippines in 2016, decided to form his own private convoy team here.

His attempts to receive special treatment continued even during mandatory education sessions imposed by the court for convicted offenders, JTBC reported.

In August 2022, the controversial head of the messianic religious sect was handed a three-year prison term, suspended for five years, after being convicted of embezzlement and obstruction of business.

He was found to have misappropriated over 5 billion won in church funds while building Shincheonji’s training center, known as "Palace of Peace," in 2014, and to have held religious events in public venues without approval from local governments between 2015 and 2019.

The court found him not guilty of conspiring with church officials to downplay the number of members and worship locations reported to health authorities during February 2020, when COVID-19 spread rapidly among the church's followers.

At the time, the court ordered him to complete 80 hours of "legal compliance education," which typically requires offenders to gather in a classroom at the Legal Compliance Support Center, operated by the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau under the Ministry of Justice. There, offenders attend lectures by legal experts, take online courses or engage in group discussions, officials said.

However, Lee allegedly received all 16 sessions of the education one-on-one in a separate room, with each session conducted not by a professional instructor but by a staff member at the Legal Compliance Support Center. He even had a foldable bed set up in the room, the insider said.

Regarding allegations of special treatment for Lee during the sessions, the Justice Ministry told JTBC that he had health issues and that there were concerns someone with a personal connection to him might attempt to harm him during the program.

Shincheonji did not respond to requests for comment.