In response to Ms. Gu’s death, 120,000 people gathered at a public rally in Seoul, Korea, urging for legal punishment on these Christian pastors and putting an end to this illegal practice. This was followed by dozens of rallies worldwide. In the words of Pastor Noel Malik, Director of Pakistan Minorities Alliance in Italy, “Denominations who exercise those actions are not Christian. They are extremist and anti-Christian. I want to ask them. In which chapter and which verse are you following to do such bad action? If the Bible does not say, why are you doing that?"

This is much more than just a violation of one’s religious freedoms in 21st century Korea. It is a clear violation of one’s human rights, hidden beneath the guise of religion. Pastors evade the law by deceiving parents into believing that their child has fallen into a ‘cult’; therefore absolving themselves of any responsibility. Moreover, during the last four years, 571 pastors of the Presbyterian Church have been sentenced for crimes including forgery, drink-driving and sexual assault.

The CCK and its heinous coercive conversion programme, which has raised 137 cases since Ms. Gu’s death this year alone, needs to come to an end. Ms. Jihye Choi, co-president of Human Rights Association for Victims of Coercive Conversion Programs (HAC) in South Korea, said “In order to root out this kind of anti-human rights conversion, international interest is of tremendous importance". It is, therefore, fitting that this publication appeared in the New York Times and is spreading all over the world. Something must give. In the words of H.E. Samuel Sam-Sumana, Former Vice President of Government of Sierra Leone, “Governments should be encouraged and supported to develop clearly defined policies and laws against forceful conversion and those policies and laws should be fully enforced.”

The Korean government has yet to publicly acknowledge Ms. Gu’s death.