Marching Band Agency: "It's True I Went for Shincheonji Training"

An agency official stated that while they did connect a marching band to an event in May, it was not related to the current Democratic Party convention. Their position is that this convention's marching band was not arranged by their agency.

The official explained, "We did connect this marching band to an event in May, but we did not connect them to the Democratic Party convention this time."

Due to the recession in the performance industry, many companies are accepting events regardless of political leanings, such as progressive or conservative, or religion. However, Shincheonji events are generally not preferred in the performance industry due to their low profitability, the agency official added.

The agency official mentioned, "The performance industry is very difficult. So, for people like themselves, they have no choice but to take all incoming events, whether they are progressive or from the People Power Party."

The representative of M Marching Band previously worked as a drummer for K Marching Band in Seoul. An agency official stated that with the help of K Marching Band's leader, he was able to independently establish a band in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region.

The agency official said, "The representative of M Marching Band was a drummer belonging to another K Marching Band in Seoul, and with the help of the K Marching Band leader, this person started their own band in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region."

The representative of M Marching Band clarified that the Shincheonji connection allegations were merely a response to secure an event. The band representative claimed that he gave a positive answer to the person who inquired about the event, implying that he accepts events regardless of politics or religion.

He refuted that his remarks were edited in a way that amplified the suspicions, emphasizing that his original intention was not such. The band representative explained, "I'm someone who accepts events regardless of politics or religion, so I said something like, 'That's fine, it doesn't matter,' but they edited it strangely."

The marching band representative admitted that he was approached by Shincheonji in the past and completed 'Gospel Room' and 'Center' training. He claimed that he participated in Shincheonji training with the expectation that it would help him secure events.

The Newtamsa reporter commented, "It seems clear that the brother or sister who approached him was indeed trying to draw him into Shincheonji."

It was confirmed that the Democratic Party did not directly hire the marching band, but rather through the agency 'Idus.' 'Idus' is known as a company that frequently secures contracts for Democratic Party events.

The reporter confirmed, "Is there a separate agency for Democratic Party events? ... It must just be a company that frequently wins contracts from the Democratic Party. ... Idus."

Shincheonji organizes and operates its own marching bands for each branch. A Newtamsa reporter explained that this is an organized operational method that reflects Chairman Lee Man-hee's preference for marching bands.

The reporter mentioned, "Shincheonji, especially the Simon Tribe, for example, has its own marching bands internally. ... Because Lee Man-hee likes them, they reportedly buy instruments from abroad, have young people practice, and have developed them a lot internally."

The Newtamsa reporter stated that there is currently insufficient clear evidence to conclude that this marching band is a Shincheonji front organization. However, even if it is a legitimate band, the risk of Shincheonji attempting to recruit its members always exists.

The reporter judged, "For now, in my opinion, there is no clear evidence to say that this band is a Shincheonji front organization."

Shincheonji continuously attempts to launder its external image by emphasizing volunteer work. The Newtamsa reporter pointed out that recently, with Chairman Lee Man-hee in custody, he has been using his Korean War veteran history to request bail, employing a strategy to pretend to be a public interest organization.

The reporter emphasized, "Shincheonji continuously tries to launder its image by highlighting volunteer work, and even recently, with Lee Man-hee in custody, he keeps requesting bail, and Lee Man-hee does indeed have a history as a Korean War veteran."