[속보] Shincheonji Lee Man-hee is only guilty of embezzlement… He was exempt from arrest on probation.

Lee Man-hee (89), the general president of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, who was handed over to trial on charges of interfering with the coronavirus quarantine, was sentenced to probation.

On the 13th, Suwon District Law Criminal Division 11 (Director Mi-kyung Kim) judged President Lee’s violation of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act as innocent, and all charges of embezzlement as guilty, and sentenced him to three years in prison and four years probation. The judiciary decided that “the refusal to provide facilities and lists cannot be seen as interference with quarantine.

Chairman Lee was charged with collusion with Shincheonji officials in February last year, when the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) was spreading around Shincheonji, and reported to the quarantine authorities by reducing the list of members and meeting places. In addition, he was accused of embezzling 5.6 billion won, including taking 5 billion won of church funds in the process of constructing the Palace of Peace, a training center in Shincheonji.

Earlier, the prosecution asked President Lee to “ignore public authority and interfere with quarantine activities related to epidemiological investigations,” and demanded 5 years imprisonment and a fine of 3 million won.

President Lee was arrested in August of last year and was tried on trial, but in November of that year, he was released on bail. President Lee has denied all charges. In a final statement at the last decision trial, he said, “I am sorry to the people for not solving this situation in a short period of time,” and “I cooperated a lot in quarantine activities, such as donating plasma with that heart.”

Reporter Lee Ga-young [email protected]