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Authorities say Shincheonji leader 'cooked up' connections to evade tax probe

Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 15:39

Lee Man-hee, founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, in March 2020. [YONHAP]

Recordings have emerged that allegedly show Lee Man-hee, chairman of religious group Shincheonji, directed an organized lobbying effort targeting political and legal circles during the Covid-19 pandemic to head off a tax audit and a prosecutors’ probe, prompting authorities to broaden their investigation into the matter.

A joint prosecutors-police task force investigating suspected church-state collusion has secured multiple recordings of phone calls in which senior Shincheonji officials discussed trying to reach politicians, prosecutors and former prosecutors-turned-attorneys, according to legal sources on Thursday.

In one recorded call from June 2021, Ko Dong-an, then Shincheonji’s No. 2 figure and secretary-general, is heard speaking with another executive about plans to approach a liberal Democratic Party lawmaker — a former chief prosecutor — and Shin Seong-sik, then chief of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, through Lee Hee-ja, chair of the Korea Geunwoo Association.

The Korea Geunwoo Association is a women-led civic group believed to have been established in 1927. The name alludes to Geunwoohoe, one of the largest women’s independence effort organizations during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

Ko said in the call he would tell the lawmaker of “cooking up” connections with the Suwon chief, and referred to instructions to ask that a tax evasion case be smoothed over.

Another recording includes remarks suggesting they first needed to confirm whether the lawmaker could actually exert influence over the Suwon prosecutors office chief, along with discussion of an attempt to urgently meet Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol, who was then head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

Investigators also found indications that Shincheonji officials discussed leveraging ties through a well-connected former-prosecutor attorney in connection with a prosecutor handling the tax evasion case at the Suwon office.

Shincheonji's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, is seen on Jan. 30. [YONHAP]

Ko was heard relaying comments such as that the prosecutor did not seem highly interested in the case, or that it would be “best to find someone close” to a new division chief prosecutor once one arrived.

In a 2022 recording, after a prosecutor handling a case involving Shincheonji whistleblower Kim Nam-hee was replaced, someone is heard saying, “Now we can get to work,” further stoking suspicions of attempted interference in an ongoing investigation.

The task force is also focusing on signs that Shincheonji sought contacts across the political spectrum.

An attorney surnamed Kim, a former division chief prosecutor, was linked to a Shincheonji lobbying organization known as the “Sangha Group,” and investigators have obtained recordings in which he told Lee he would do his best to ensure the case ends without indictment.

The lawyer is also reported to have handed over lobbying documents while warning that they should not be shown elsewhere because it could be seen as lobbying.

Shincheonji's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, is seen on Jan. 30. [YONHAP]

Shincheonji faced allegations in 2020 related to obstructing Covid-19 prevention efforts and was subjected to a special tax audit by the National Tax Service and approximately 4.8 billion won ($3.28 million) in taxes were imposed onto the organization. Around the same time, Lee and other officials were arrested and indicted.

Authorities will continue to investigate the possibility that Shincheonji mounted an all-out lobbying campaign to break out of a crisis. If the recordings are confirmed as authentic and accurate, they are expected to consider additional charges, including possible violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Shincheonji has denied the allegations.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]