21 people linked to Singapore chapter of South Korea’s Shincheonji Church arrested for covert activities

Name: Who is Lee Man-hee and why is his secretive church linked to half South Korea’s coronavirus cases?
Uploaded: 2020-11-12T04:40:38.000Z
Duration: 2 min 47 s
Description: Who is Lee Man-hee and why is his secretive church linked to half South Korea’s coronavirus cases?

The nine men and 12 women had allegedly ‘re-engaged’ in activities connected to the church, the Ministry of Home Affairs said

The religious sect attracted global media attention earlier this year after being linked to a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in South Korea

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Founded by South Korean Lee Man-hee in 1984, the Shincheonji Church has been accused of being a cult in several countries due to its unorthodox teachings. Photo: AFP

TODAY

Published: 12:40pm, 12 Nov 2020Updated: 3:16pm, 12 Nov 2020

Singaporean police have arrested 21 people who are believed to be members of a local chapter of a South Korea-based church that has been accused of being a cult.

The arrests were made after members of the unregistered local chapter of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony resumed their activities covertly, following the repatriation in February of five key members, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday.

The religious sect attracted global media attention earlier this year after being linked to a sudden spike in coronavirus infections in South Korea.

The 21 arrested in Singapore – nine men and 12 women aged between 21 and 49 – had allegedly “re-engaged” in activities connected to the church, MHA said. This came after the group’s entities in the city state were dissolved. MHA said that aside from the arrests, another group of nine women aged between 22 and 52 – as well as two men aged 23 and 36 – were assisting the police with the ongoing investigations.

Founded by South Korean Lee Man-hee in 1984, the church has been accused of being a cult in several countries due to its unorthodox teachings, MHA said.

“Based on testimonies of former members, Lee has claimed to be the second coming of Christ who would bring 144,000 people to heaven with him on the Day of Judgement,” MHA said.

02:47

Who is Lee Man-hee and why is his secretive church linked to half South Korea’s coronavirus cases?

The ministry added that Lee has also claimed to be the only person who can interpret the Bible and that the church allegedly regards all other churches and pastors as “belonging to Satan”.