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In July 2020, as Shincheonji leader Lee Man-hee faced arrest for allegedly violating COVID-19 quarantine rules, a systematic effort to raise substantial legal fees within the church quietly unfolded. The method? A carefully orchestrated system of “split remittances,” designed to fly under the radar.
Funding a Defense: The ‘Split Remittance’ Strategy
A controversial church allegedly skirted donation limits to amass funds for its leader’s legal defense.
- A notice circulated within the Shincheonji Busan Andrews branch in July 2020 detailed a plan to solicit “sponsorship” for legal expenses.
- Donations were capped at 490,000 won-just under the threshold requiring gift tax reporting-and collected through personal accounts.
- Former members allege that ex-general Secretary Ko Dongan spearheaded the fundraising effort, potentially involving lobbying efforts.
- Ko Dongan is currently under police investigation for allegedly embezzling funds collected from believers.
A notice sent to the Shincheonji Busan Andrews branch in July 2020 explicitly stated that legal expenses for criminal lawsuits could not come from church funds, and instead would be “sponsored” through personal accounts.This directive came as leader Lee Man-hee risked arrest on charges of disrupting quarantine measures.
“At that time, in June, five executives of Shincheonji were arrested and sent to a detention center, and they said they would collect legal fees…” recalled a former member of the Shincheonji Andrew Sect.
The donation account was reportedly managed by Mr. Tan, who served as the head of the theology department at the General Assembly. The collection process was meticulous, with guidelines issued to limit individual remittances to “less than 490,000 won.”
What is the gift tax threshold in South Korea? Donations exceeding 500,000 won are subject to gift tax, prompting the church to allegedly cap individual contributions at 490,000 won.
“I remember collecting 490,000 won per person to avoid gift tax because there was a saying that if the donation exceeds 500,000 won, you have to pay gift tax,” another former Shincheonji Andrew Sect member explained. “As of the coronavirus,a lot of the world’s attention was focused on Shincheonji,so to avoid any problems related to money…”
Ko Dongan has also been implicated in alleged collusion between the church and the government, accused of lobbying the legal profession as head of the foreign policy department during the 20th presidential election and leading systematic recruitment of party members for specific candidates.
In a recorded statement, Ko Dongan stated, “It’s all over the phone, the other party’s Telegram, everything is left behind, and it’s been over 20 years since I’ve been accused of violating the Attorney General’s Act, obstruction of official duties, the Infection Prevention Act, the teacher (Lee Man-hee), embezzlement, and the prosecution for this. But I’ve managed to stop this.”
As the police investigation into Ko Dongan progresses, attention is also turning to whether the Joint Investigation Headquarters for
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