{"id":335,"date":"2026-07-08T17:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:04:18","slug":"shincheonji-and-the-unification-church-south-koreas-minister-of-justice-promises-strict-punishment-of-false-prophets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335","title":{"rendered":"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

by\u00a0Massimo Introvigne<\/a><\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0Jul 2, 2026<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0Op-eds Global<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Elderly religious leaders are kept in detention, while the politician quotes the Gospel against the \u201cheretics\u201d and hails what happened in Japan.<\/h2>\n

by Massimo Introvigne<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Minister
Minister Jeong Seong-ho and his extraordinary Facebook post.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice, Jeong Seong-ho, has published an extraordinary Facebook post confirming what many feared. A ninety-five-year-old man, Shincheonji\u2019s Chairman Lee Manhee, is being held in detention on accusations that involve no violence and no risk of escape. The alleged crime is a supposed violation of the principle of separation of religion and state. The Minister writes: \u201cLee Man-hee, Chairman of Shincheonji, who is accused of forcibly registering more than 50,000 believers as members of a specific political party, was indicted and detained. The allegation is that through mass party enrollment during major political events such as presidential primary elections, local elections, and party leadership elections, he distorted the political will of political parties and citizens and violated the constitutional principle of separation of religion and state.\u201d These words confirm that a man of ninetyfive is in jail on charges related to political participation. This right belongs to every citizen in a democracy. How he could \u201cforcibly\u201d register co-religionists as members of a party is not really explained.<\/p>\n

The Minister continues: \u201cReligious organizations are communities of faith intended for inner peace and spiritual comfort, not political groups seeking power.\u201d This sentence reveals a conception of religion that confines believers to a spiritual sphere and denies them the right to participate in public life. Democracy is built on the idea that citizens, including those who belong to religious communities, may express opinions, join parties, and vote. The Minister\u2019s statement is a direct challenge to this principle.<\/p>\n

The Minister writes: \u201cOnly when the state remains in the secular sphere and religion remains in the spiritual sphere can democracy and peace within the community be maintained.\u201d Democracy is maintained when citizens are free to speak, vote, and participate. This includes religious citizens. The Minister\u2019s post shows how political power may use the language of constitutional principles to silence religious communities. It shows how justice may be replaced by ideology. It shows how the boundary between state and religion may be invoked to justify repression.<\/p>\n

He adds: \u201cJust a week ago, Japan\u2019s Supreme Court also issued a final dissolution order against the Unification Church over issues including large-scale monetary demands imposed on followers and close ties with the ruling party.\u201d This is inaccurate. The dissolution decision does not mention ties with the ruling party. It is troubling that a Minister of Justice confuses media narratives with judicial documents. In South Korea, a draft law is pending that would authorize swift dissolution of religions whose leaders have been sentenced or that \u201cinterfere in politics.\u201d In this context, the Minister\u2019s misrepresentation of the Japanese decision acquires a sinister tone.<\/p>\n

The Minister writes, going back to Chairman Lee but with a \u201clikewise\u201d referring to the Unification Church: \u201cThis case is likewise a serious crime, and strict criminal punishment corresponding to its responsibility is inevitable.\u201d A Minister of Justice should guarantee impartiality. He should not prejudge an ongoing investigation. Declaring that \u201cstrict punishment is inevitable\u201d before a trial has taken place undermines the credibility of the justice system. The Minister concludes his post with a biblical quotation: \u201cBeware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.\u201d He gives his reader a reference to the Gospel of Matthew (7:15) in bold. He uses this verse to describe leaders of religious movements he dislikes. He does so on his official Facebook account as Justice Minister.<\/p>\n

\"Mother
Mother Han and Chairman Lee.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeong is known as a pious Presbyterian. His church includes many good Christians and righteous people, yet it also includes pastors who act as deprogrammers. These practices involve kidnapping members of Shincheonji and other groups and forcing them to abandon their faith. The Minister\u2019s use of Scripture in an official communication crosses the very line he claims to defend. He invokes religion while accusing others of mixing religion and politics.<\/p>\n

The leader of the Unification Church, Mother Hak Ja Han, is eighty-three years old. She has been detained for months in South Korea and is now hospitalized under surveillance. She is also accused of political interference.<\/p>\n

The detention of elderly religious leaders raises questions. When a ninety-five-year-old man and an eighty-three-year-old woman are subjected to harsh conditions, one wonders whether the government hopes that they will not survive long enough to see justice. Religious movements have endured persecution for centuries. They have survived empires, dictatorships, and political storms. They will survive this season as well. Governments and parties rise and fall. Churches endure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Massimo Introvigne\u00a0|\u00a0Jul 2, 2026\u00a0|\u00a0Op-eds Global Elderly religious leaders are kept in detention, while the politician<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international"],"yoast_head":"\nShincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d - Stokvel Talk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d - Stokvel Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by\u00a0Massimo Introvigne\u00a0|\u00a0Jul 2, 2026\u00a0|\u00a0Op-eds Global Elderly religious leaders are kept in detention, while the politician\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stokvel Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T17:04:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26\"},\"headline\":\"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T17:04:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335\"},\"wordCount\":804,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bitterwinter.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Minister.JPG.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"International\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335\",\"name\":\"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d - Stokvel Talk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bitterwinter.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Minister.JPG.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T17:04:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bitterwinter.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Minister.JPG.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bitterwinter.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Minister.JPG.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=335#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stokvel Talk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Stokvel Talk\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg\",\"width\":2559,\"height\":735,\"caption\":\"Stokvel Talk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d - Stokvel Talk","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d - Stokvel Talk","og_description":"by\u00a0Massimo Introvigne\u00a0|\u00a0Jul 2, 2026\u00a0|\u00a0Op-eds Global Elderly religious leaders are kept in detention, while the politician","og_url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335","og_site_name":"Stokvel Talk","article_published_time":"2026-07-08T17:04:18+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/person\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26"},"headline":"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d","datePublished":"2026-07-08T17:04:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335"},"wordCount":804,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bitterwinter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Minister.JPG.jpg","articleSection":["International"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335","name":"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d - Stokvel Talk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bitterwinter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Minister.JPG.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-08T17:04:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bitterwinter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Minister.JPG.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bitterwinter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Minister.JPG.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=335#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shincheonji and the Unification Church: South Korea\u2019s Minister of Justice Promises \u201cStrict Punishment\u201d of \u201cFalse Prophets\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#website","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/","name":"Stokvel Talk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#organization","name":"Stokvel Talk","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg","width":2559,"height":735,"caption":"Stokvel Talk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/person\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za"],"url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":336,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}