Shincheonji leader Lee Man-hee denies 7.5 billion won tax evasion charges in first court hearing

Sep 03, 2026, 09:17 am

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Lee Man-hee, general president of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, who faces charges of violating the Political Parties Act, arrives for a pre-trial detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on June 24. / Yonhap News

Defense counsel for Lee Man-hee, general president of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, who was indicted on charges of evading approximately 7.5 billion won in taxes by concealing profits from concession stands at branch churches nationwide, denied the prosecution's charges.

The 36th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Senior Judge Lee Jeong-yeop, held the first preparatory hearing on the 2nd for the case involving President Lee and a former Shincheonji business division head, identified only by the surname Jeong, both indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes regarding tax evasion. As a preparatory hearing is a proceeding to narrow down key issues and coordinate evidence examination plans ahead of the formal trial, attendance is not mandatory for the defendants, and President Lee did not appear in court.

President Lee and his co-defendant face charges of evading approximately 7.57 billion won in corporate income tax and value-added tax between 2016 and 2020 by operating concession stands across nationwide branch churches under church members' names, concealing profit-making enterprises, and maintaining dual accounting records.

President Lee's defense team claimed, "There was no deliberate conspiracy for tax evasion," asserting that "certain cash sales revenues were merely omitted in the process of transitioning unregistered concession stands into the formal regulatory system." The defense further stated, "Taking into account the background of the case and the positions of the parties involved, the alleged conspiracy has not been sufficiently proven."

Granting the defense's request for time to organize its legal stance given the substantial volume of case records, the court set the first formal trial date for December 16.

Son Seung-hyun

#Shincheonji #Lee Man-hee