Collusion between coercive (forced) conversion pastors and the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji who protest, “Give me back my child”, while their child is by their side
Children suffer “Severe aftereffects of coercive conversion”
[Cheonji Ilbo = Reporter Kang Soo-kyung] There is one group of people who have appeared in the media throughout the trial of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji Church; Chairman Man-hee Lee): the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji (Jeonpyeon; Mr. Gang-sik Shin), which claims to have been harmed by Shincheonji.
They appear to have used the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic to "finish Shincheonji". Yet Chairman Lee was granted bail and released from custody after being found 'not guilty' of obstructing health authorities' efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19. Some convictions will go to appeal. Nevertheless, representatives of the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji continue to carry out protests against Shincheonji near the court and the home of Chairman Lee of Shincheonji Church.
What kind of group is the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji?
◆Parents who fail to 'deconvert' their child resort to 'coercive conversion'
The National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji is a group that, for years, has operated as a one-person or small group protest meting out slander publicly, at various locations between Shincheonji Church and the Zion Christian Mission Center.
Their noise has made local residents frown. A thorough investigation by Cheonji Ilbo has found members of the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji to be perpetrators of domestic violence who distort the truth and violate their own children's basic human and religious freedoms.
Some parents, mostly of those whose children attend Shincheonji Church, abandon their livelihoods to carry out protests. They blame Shincheonji Church for cases of runaway or divorce experienced within their families, and label Shincheonji Church a religious organisation that destroys families through such incidents.
Moreover, it has directed all criticism at Shincheonji Church's Chairman Man-hee Lee. However, the real reason for these social endemics is 'coercive, or forced, conversion' (a.k.a. 'deprogramming').
The majority of the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji members are parents who had forcefully dragged their child away to undergo the coercive conversion programme, and failed.
In January 2016, Ms. Shin was chained and confined in a pension (lodging) for 17 days by her father, who is now a member of the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji, in order that she undergo coercive conversion. Ms. Shin refused to renounce her faith and initially filed charges against her father, which she quickly dropped to absolve him of possible legal punishment. Regardless, Ms. Shin's father changed the password on the front door of their home and took part in an outdoor protest shouting for his daughter's return.
In 2015, Ms. Lee was drugged with sleeping pills, handcuffed and kidnapped by her parents to undergo coercive conversion. Parents admitted to using violence and assault while their daughter resisted.
Another individual named Mr. Lee was kidnapped by his parents in 2015 and imprisoned for 27 days while undergoing the coercive conversion programme. Mr. Lee was prevented from returning home as the passcode had been changed.
Some parents showed disconcerting behaviour, carrying out protests demanding that their child be returned to them, even though their child was at home or even right by their side.
In contrast, an investigation discovered that the majority of youth victims of coercive conversion are Shincheonji Church members who have tried to re-establish dialogue with their parents.
These Shincheonji Church youth victims often complain of severe post-traumatic stress disorder due to the shock of kidnap, confinement and assault.
The victims’ defence fails despite 'unconstitutional, forceful human rights violations' because these youth are Shincheonji Church believers whose parents are one with the pastors of the established Church.
As stipulated in Article 276 of the Criminal Act, the crime of ‘illegal confinement’ is one that violates a person's freedom of movement, as is the crime of ‘false arrest’. Confinement in a room is a typical example, as is forcing the victim into a car and driving off. This can carry a prison term of up to five years or a fine of up to 7 million KRW. In the case of a victim surviving confinement, Article 280 of the Criminal Act states that attempts to commit such crime is punishable by law.
According to the law, parents who abduct and assault adult children because they 'go to Shincheonji' are felons, as are those (conversion pastors) who conspire in acts of forced confinement and abuse on the victim. However, the media shows zero sensitivity to the violence committed by parents against their own child, which in effect constitutes child abuse. Even when these issues are publicly broadcast, they deliberately shut their eyes to the coercive conversion endemic.
◆Protestant Church's vested interests
The National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji is heavily influenced by the vested powers of the established Protestant Church.
According to content presented at the recent trial, the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji exerted pressure when HWPL and Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation signed a contract in July 2019 for hire of Suwon Stadium.
The National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji intervened with calls for its cancellation and submitted various documentation to Gyeonggi Provincial Government-Suwon City Hall, which operates Suwon Stadium.
Gyeonggi Provincial Government-Suwon City Hall, and Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation had no procedural reason for cancelling the agreement, but due to the external pressures and complaints, the agreement was cancelled about a week before the event even though the fees for rent had been paid.
Despite there being no flaws within the administrative process, Gyeonggi Provincial Government-Suwon City Hall, and Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation made a political decision in response to the pressure of the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji and the Protestant Church.
Since HWPL had prepared an international large-scale event, there was nowhere else for it to be hosted at such short notice, so the green light was given and a government official opened its doors.
After the event, Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation sued HWPL, but it was soon withdrawn.
The judge pointed out that this was 'contradictory behaviour' by government officials. This is a typical case of collusion between the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji and the Protestant Church.
There are those who side with the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji: pastors who run these coercive conversion programmes.
Some of these people often appear in the media, notably Pastor Hyun-wook Shin and Pastor Yongsik Jin of Ansan Sangnok Church who was sentenced in a lawsuit for alleged forcible confinement of a victim in a psychiatric ward for the purposes of coercive conversion. Pastor Jin is from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
In addition, after being expelled from Shincheonji Church, Pastor Hyun-wook Shin of Guri Chodae Church became one with the Protestant Church as a pastor who also carried out anti-Shincheonji activities. According to Shincheonji Church, Pastor Shin was expelled for having created controversy through his denial of the Bible, with claims that, “You must pray in the name of Chairman Man-hee Lee, not in the name of Jesus”.
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Blog on National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji (Jeonpyeon)
Slanderous Accusations by the National Association of the Victims of Shincheonji on Shincheonji Church
Cases of Coercive Conversion (also known as 'Forced Conversion' or 'Deprogramming')
Abducted and Confined Inside a Van for 40 Hours – “Conversion Pastor Even Took My Kids Away”
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/abducted-and-confined-inside-van-for-40.html
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/abducted-and-confined-inside-van-for-40.html
Cancer Patient Abducted and Forced to Undergo Coercive Conversion at Protestant Church in Korea