Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
President agrees on religious leaders’ call for disbanding Unification Church, Shincheonji
President Lee Jae Myung poses with leaders of Korea's major religions during their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Lee Jae Myung voiced his agreement with religious leaders’ calls to disband the Unification Church, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and other “illegitimate, heretical religious organizations” during a meeting with leaders representing major religious communities here, Monday.
According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, the leaders of seven major religious communities including Buddhism, Protestantism and Catholicism expressed their concerns on “the serious harms caused by illegitimate, heretical religious organizations including the Unification Church and Shincheonji,” during the meeting.
“Such practices, including collusion between politics and religion, cause serious harm to people’s lives, and must be dealt with strictly,” the leaders were quoted as saying.
Kang said the religious leaders urged the president that the public would support disbanding religious groups that harm the people and the country, and called for their assets to be used to compensate their victims.
In response, Lee voiced his agreement. “This is a difficult issue, but the harm these groups have inflicted on our society has been left unchecked for far too long and has become severe,” he said according to the spokesperson.
The comments came amid ongoing investigations on various bribery allegations among politicians, the Unification Church and Shincheonji. The Unification Church has faced allegations of bribing politicians and intervening in party primaries and public elections. Shincheonji has been accused of mobilizing its followers to join the People Power Party ahead of the 2022 presidential election in an effort to influence its primary process.
Last week, the prosecution and police formed a joint investigation team to look into the allegations, while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is now conducting reviews on legal requirements for disbanding the Unification Church.