The joint police-prosecution investigation headquarters probing alleged collusion between Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and political figures additionally indicted Shincheonji leader Lee Man-hee on charges of evading about 7.5 billion won in taxes.
On the 24th, the task force said it referred Lee and former Shincheonji general assembly business chief A to trial on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (taxes). Lee was indicted while in custody, and A was indicted without detention.
The task force also indicted Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, on charges of violating the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act.
Lee and others are accused of evading a total of about 7.57 billion won in corporate taxes and value-added taxes from 2016 to 2020.
The task force believes they disguised snack bars operated by local churches nationwide as sole proprietorships under believers' names to conceal revenue-generating businesses. It concluded they evaded taxes by keeping double books for the stores and hiding cash sales.
Earlier, in 2020, the National Tax Service conducted a tax audit of Lee and 12 Shincheonji tribes and reported them to prosecutors on suspicion of tax evasion. The Suwon District Prosecutors Office decided not to indict in 2021, but the task force decided in February this year to reopen the investigation.
Lee has also been detained and indicted on charges of collectively enrolling more than 50,000 believers in the People Power Party.
The task force believes that from 2021 to 2024, Lee forced believers to join the People Power Party with the aim of influencing the party's presidential and National Assembly primary elections. It also applied charges of obstructing the People Power Party's primary-related operations through mass collective enrollment.
Focusing on charges nearing the statute of limitations, the task force indicted Lee twice in custody on the 29th of last month and on the 13th.