Case dismissed due to "family affair or "religious issue"
No reporting by the ignorant Korean media
New York human rights group condemns coercive conversion
Reports published in US media including NBC and ABC
[Cheonji Ilbo = Reporter Kim Bit-na] This year marks the third anniversary of the 'Ji-In Gu case', where a woman in her twenties died after being abused under confinement. However, the Ji-in Gu case did not receive much attention in Korea because it was dismissed as a 'family affair' or 'religious issue'. On the contrary, the international community's interest grew through foreign media coverage of her case calling for an end to religious oppression in South Korea.
According to reports from Cheonji Ilbo and foreign media on the 17th January 2021, the 9th January marked the third anniversary of the death of the late Ji-In Gu, a woman in her twenties. The late Gu was a member of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji Church of Jesus), who was imprisoned by her own family in a Catholic monastery in Jangseong county, Jeollanam province for 44 days in July 2016 to undergo coercive conversion.
In June 2017 the following year, Ms. Gu, who managed to escape, informed the presidential Blue House about the damage of coercive conversion and petitioned for swift punishment of coercive conversion pastors and enactment of law to prohibit religious discrimination. However, on December 29th of the same year, she again underwent coercive conversion in confinement at a pension in Hwasun county, Jeollanam province.
On December 30th 2017 at 5:40pm, Ms. Gu was caught by her father as she attempted to escape the pension in Hwasun county, Jeollanam province. Her mother forced her daughter's mouth shut. Ms. Gu, who lost consciousness due to breathing difficulties, was then evacuated to Chonnam National University Hospital, but was unable to regain consciousness. On January 9th 2018, she was diagnosed with hypoxic brain injury and passed away. At the time, she was just 27 years old.
◆Ji-In Gu is a typical case of coercive conversion
Ms. Kim, a close acquaintance of the late Ms. Gu, emphasised that pastors from the 'Cult Counselling Centre' were involved in the incident. 'Compulsory conversion counselling', which was also the cause of Ms. Gu's death, is mainly conducted by the 'Cult Counselling Centre'.
A pastor who belongs to the Cult Counselling Centre receives money from parents while specifically instructing parents to kidnap and imprison their child. Police authorities often dismiss coercive conversion cases as a mere 'family affair' and legal punishment is not administered.
◆'Coercive conversion in Korea' garners international media and community attention
As news of Ms. Gu’s death gained media coverage in February 2018, 120,000 citizens from around the country rallied for punishment of coercive conversion pastors. Protests also continued abroad. In February of the same year, about 1000 people participated at a rally in memory of Ms. Gu in Pretoria, South Africa. On the 18th of the same month (local time) in New York, more than 100 members of a human rights group held a protest against coercive conversion.
Foreign media immediately reported the issue. On February 19th 2018, 221 media outlets including the three major U.S. broadcasters NBC, CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), and ABC, all published a report entitled 'South Korea: The Olympic Games Amid Large-Scale Human Rights Protests'.
◆US Pew Research Center, Research and Announcement of Coercive Conversion
Cases of religious discrimination against minority faiths in South Korea have been indexed by international research institutes. According to a research report recently published by Pew Research Center, a non-profit American think tank, the religious discrimination index level of Korea, which registered 'low' in 2018, has now risen to 'critical'.
This study compares and analyzes the degree of hostile behavior against religion in each country, and has found the forced conversion endemic a very serious issue abroad. The Pew Research Center cited the Ji-in Gu case as a reason for the increase to 'critical' in Korea, citing the 120,000-strong rally against coercive conversion.
◆ Suspicion of the Blue House's silence due to the influence of the established church
Some commentators have pointed out that agencies such as the Blue House and judicial authorities are unaware of the influence of the established Church. However, in reality, a petition urging for the “enactment of a law banning coercive conversion' was posted on the Blue House National Petition Bulletin, signed by 140,000 people. It was deleted following Ms. Gu’s death without a given explanation.
As the government continues to tolerate coercive conversion, other victims of coercive conversion somewhere in Korea are crying out for justice.
Source: http://www.newscj.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=819902 =============================================================
Cases of Coercive Conversion (also known as 'Forced Conversion' or 'Deprogramming')