According to Yonhap, on the evening of June 24 local time, Lee Wan-hee, the president of the South Korean cult 'New World Church', was arrested for suspected political and religious crimes.
On that day, the Seoul Central District Court conducted a review of the necessity of arresting Lee Wan-hee. The court determined that although Lee Wan-hee is 95 years old, there was a risk of him destroying evidence, hence a warrant for his arrest was issued.
On the 22nd of the local time, the South Korean Prosecutors and Police Joint Investigation Unit, responsible for investigating cases of political-military collusion, requested the court to approve the arrest of Lee Wan-hee. The joint investigation unit alleged that Lee Wan-hee was suspected of forcing believers to join the largest opposition party, the National Force Party, between 2021 and 2024, in order to influence the party’s candidates in elections for the general election and the Korean Parliament, thereby violating Article 42 of South Korea’s Political Parties Law.
On June 24 local time, Lee Wan-hee was preparing to appear in court for trial at the Seoul Central District Court. Yonhap
Specifically, the ‘New World Church’ encourages its members to join the National Power Party under the guise of a ‘ Pilates program’. The investigation team suspects that the ‘New World Church’’s actions are aimed at addressing various internal issues, such as changes in building uses.
The investigation team found that Li Wanxi’s instructions to ‘encourage believers to join the party’ were passed down through various levels of church organizations, including those responsible for general affairs, local branches, pastors, and groups such as the adult group, women’s group, and youth group. As a result, at least over 50,000 believers joined the National Power Party. The investigation team believes that the actions of the New World Church hindered the election efforts of the National Power Party, and they are suspected of obstructing official duties.
In June 2025, South Korean President Li Jae-myung ordered multiple departments to jointly investigate the illegal activities of the cult "New Heaven and Earth Church". In 2020, Li Jae-myung, who was then the governor of Gyeonggi Province, conducted an investigation into the headquarters of the "New Heaven and Earth Church" in order to carry out epidemic prevention work.
"New Heaven and Earth Church" was founded by Li Wanxi in 1984. In October 2014, the Korean Christian Council determined that the group is a cult disguised as Christianity. The church employs a "secret infiltration style evangelization" strategy, which involves concealing its identity and infiltrating other church activities before secretly spreading teachings, attracting many believers, and expanding the organization's influence.
The cult nature of the “New World Church” was widely criticized in the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. In 2020, a 61-year-old female member of the organization continued to frequent church gatherings and social venues despite showing obvious symptoms, becoming a super spreader of the largest infection event during the early stages of the pandemic.
In addition, the "New World Church" has several grandiose peripheral organizations, such as the "International Youth Peace Organization (IPYG)", the "Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration Organization (HWPL)", the "World Women's Peace Organization (IWPG)", and the "Manat Youth International Alliance". Its efforts to expand beyond Korea through these organizations have drawn the attention of many countries.
