Tag: Lee Man-hee

Look who was let out of jail, the guy the coronavirus pandemic in South Korea has been blamed on:

The leader of a minor religious sect that was at the center of the early coronavirus outbreak in South Korea was released on bail on Thursday.

The Suwon District Court, south of Seoul, allowed the bail request of Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, citing a low risk of destroying evidence and his deteriorating health.

The court set the bail bond at 100 million won (US$89,700) and ordered him to stay at his residence and wear an electric device to trace his movement. 

The 89-year-old leader was indicted in August for allegedly submitting false documents to health authorities on the whereabouts and number of participants at Shincheonji’s gatherings in February when the sect was blamed for spikes in the spread of COVID-19.

He is also accused of embezzling 5.6 billion won from church funds and holding unauthorized religious events from 2015 to 2019.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but ROK Heads may remember that Lee Man-hee was blamed in the early days of the pandemic as causing its spread in Daegu. Some argued however that Lee was scapegoated for the pandemic to cover for the Moon administration’s decision to not restrict travel from China.

Here is what the founder of the Shincheonji church had to stay about the spread of the virus through his church in Daegu:

Lee Man-hee, founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, issued an apology Monday as his secretive sect is investigated for manslaughter for refusing to cooperate to stop the deadly coronavirus outbreak.  

“Regarding the mass infections linked to Patient No. 31, I, as the leader of Shincheonji, offer a sincere apology to the people,” said Lee, 88, in a press conference. “We had no intention [to allow it], but many were infected. We did our best, but we could not completely stop [the spread of the disease]. I apologize to the people.”

After Patient No. 31, a 61-year-old woman and a Shincheonji follower in Daegu, was diagnosed last month, health officials said she may have helped spread the disease. As of Monday morning, 3,260 infections were reported in Daegu and nearby North Gyeongsang. 

In his first public appearance since the church emerged as a nexus in the outbreak, Lee, who founded the controversial doomsday sect in 1984, said Shincheonji is “actively cooperating” with the government and all gatherings of the followers have been stopped. “We will do our best to offer all human and material resources to the government,” he said. 

After reiterating apologies and begging for forgiveness from the government, Lee dropped to his knees and touched his head to the ground twice. “Now is not the time to investigate who is at fault,” he said, “and heaven will help us.” He also asked the public not to “misjudge” his followers. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but Lee Man-hee seems a bit shall I say not all there. However, prosecuting this guy for manslaughter seems to be political to me, unless the church was intentionally spreading the virus which I have seen no evidence of.