SEOUL, South Korea — The head of South Korea’s largest Buddhist order and the aging leader of a Korean War veterans’ association joined visiting European experts in decrying what they described as ongoing assaults on freedom of belief and expression in South Korea.
At an August briefing in downtown Seoul’s Press Center, attendees discussed the pretrial detention of aging religious leaders, restrictions on political activities by clergy and an emerging alliance of Chinese state agents with anti-religious activists and lawmakers in South Korea and Japan.
After the Aug. 7 conference, dubbed “Freedom of Religion and Expression in South Korea,” visiting speakers from the EU exited the venue to deliver a petition to the South Korean Human Rights Commission.
“Fundamental human rights and freedoms of religion must not be infringed upon on the grounds of a specific religion, nor should social prejudices be justified,” the Venerable Beopsan, executive chief of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, told attendees. “Democratic society is healthiest when it respects the rights of minorities … I earnestly pray that our society becomes one … where all beings exist without discrimination.”
His order is Korea’s largest Buddhist organization.
Two minority religion leaders have suffered pretrial detentions despite their advanced ages.
The two are Moon Hak-ja, 83, of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, and Lee Man-hee, 95, of Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
Both the Family Federation, founded in Korea in 1954, and Shincheonji, founded in Korea in 1984, are Christian offshoots that some mainstream Christian churches deride as heretical and lay opponents call cults.
The Family Federation, formerly known as the Unification Church, has also founded and operated businesses, including The Washington Times.
“Is it absolutely necessary to imprison an elderly war veteran, who has a secure residence, poses no risk of escape and is in no condition to destroy evidence?” asked Ryu Jae-sik, who heads the Seoul branch of the Association of Korean War Veterans, referring to Mr. Lee.
“No matter how strict legal proceedings may be, they cannot take precedence over human dignity and life,” he added.
Mr. Lee is accused of evading tax and embezzling funds and is charged with compelling his followers to join the People Power Party, South Korea’s conservative political party.
Ms. Han is accused of ordering political bribery; her lawyers maintain the bribery was conducted by a rogue executive, who has been separately charged. Prosecutors are demanding a 13-year sentence.
Church, state and the courts
Speakers at the conference in Seoul questioned the South Korean judicial practice of pretrial detentions.
Thierry Valle, president of CAP Liberte de Conscience, noted that even communist jurisdictions have offered religious leaders alternatives. He cited the cases of a Catholic cardinal who was bailed in Hong Kong and a Buddhist patriarch who was granted house arrest in Vietnam.
The petition noted that in the EU, “pretrial detention for older defendants is considered an exceptional measure, permitted only when violent crimes are suspected.”
That was not the only critique of South Korea’s judicial-political practices, which have come into the spotlight following the downfall of conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol and his replacement by liberal President Lee Jae-myung, who took office in June 2025.
Mr. Lee has unleashed widespread investigations, and among the institutions under the gun are conservative churches.
Mark Nemes, deputy head of the Center of Studies for New Religions, or CESNUR, drew attention to a social media post by Korean Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho who derided Shincheonji’s Mr. Lee for breaching the “constitutional principle of church and state.”
In fact, Mr. Nemes said, “Minister Jung has a unique understanding on how this separation works … scholars of religion …. would argue that subjects that concern broader society have always been discussed within religious contexts.”
The petition the visiting experts presented to the Korean government read, in part: “Korean legislation concerning the political participation of clergy is among the most restrictive in the world and may be difficult to reconcile with international norms affirming the right of believers to take part in political life.”
The petition also noted that “in several democratic countries, political parties inspired by religious organizations exist, and the U.S. is currently considering the removal of provisions limiting clergy from endorsing candidates.”
The case of Pastor Son Hyun-bo of Segyero Church has raised alarm among U.S. religious conservatives.
Last year, Rev. Son was imprisoned for 143 days under the Public Official Election Act for making political statements against President Lee Jae-myung during church services. He was released on a suspended sentence in January 2026.
Ms. Han was also accused by prosecutors of having coerced 100,000 worshippers to join a specific party. Prosecutors quietly dropped those accusations when the cited numbers were found to exceed the total number of church members.
The demonization of new religions — often referred to as “cults” or “pseudo religions” — was another theme.
Hans Noots, associate director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, warned that even unorthodox religionists have rights.
“Freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of expression … lie at the heart of democratic societies,” he said. “This extends far beyond any single group or case … fundamental rights apply equally to all, including those whose views are unpopular or counter to our own beliefs.”
“Minorities, in particular religious minorities, are usually attacked in three stages,” said Massimo Introvigne, co-founder of CESNUR and editor of religious-freedom publication Bitter Winter. He listed intolerance in media; discrimination from administrative authorities; and finally, persecution and violence.
“That applies to totalitarian and democratic states,” he warned.
The petition noted that the case against Mr. Lee “unfolds in a climate where media representations of Shincheonji as a ’cult’ often rely on polemical accounts by religious opponents who denounce it as heresy.”
During the COVID pandemic, Shincheonji was famously accused of breaching social distancing protocols. Those claims were eventually determined to be false in court proceedings, but still circulate widely.
’Unholy alliance’ emerging
In June, the Family Federation was legally disbanded in Japan after appeals to Japan’s highest court failed.
Though it had broken no laws, the dissolution of the church — physical seizure and liquidation of all properties; loss of jobs by all staff and clergy — was ordered on grounds that it had “harmed public welfare.”
Japan and South Korea share similar judicial systems: The latter adopted its legal code from the former, during 1919-1945 Imperial rule.
Currently, a piece of legislation, the “Bill to Prevent Church-State Collusion” — unofficially dubbed the “Church Dissolution Act” — is pending at the Korean National Assembly.
The Family Federation, which promotes conservative family values, has always opposed communism. That has generated powerful enemies, some of whom may be coalescing.
Liberal Japanese anti-Federation activists visited Daejon, Korea, in September to join a conference with Evangelical Christian pastors and a professor from China’s National Police Academy who specializes in oversight of religious movements.
Mr. Introvigne dubs the emergent trilateral grouping, an “Unholy Alliance.”
Beijing is officially atheist and only permits state-sanctioned religious activities. State agencies root out underground churches and have suppressed a new religion, Falun Gong.
In 2019, some hardline Korean Christian clergy cooperated with Beijing to compel the deportation of worshippers of an underground Chinese religion, the Church of Almighty God, who had escaped to Korea seeking asylum.
Korea’s conservative opposition party has been shattered in the wake of Mr. Yoon’s overthrow, losing both the presidency and the National Assembly. That means it may lack levers to fight the legislation.
Mr. Introvigne suggests that the biggest bully pulpit now exists in the United States.
“In the U.S, there is more awareness of the problems taking place in a country that is a fundamental regional ally of the U.S.,” he said.
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