10/01/2022

Inhumane 'Forced Conversion' Cases of Abduction and Imprisonment in South Korea: What have we Learnt Since the Late Ji-in Gu Case?

[Cheonji Ilbo = Reporter Hye-ji Lim] In November 2021, Mr. A, a resident of Chungju, told his acquaintance, Mr. B, that he would be going away on a family trip. Hearing nothing 6 days later, Mr. B reported Mr. A's absence to the police who would rescue Mr. A from confinement in a hidden lodging in Jeolla province, Korea.

Ms. P, a resident of Namyangju, was forcibly taken to a house in Gwangju by her family, on the evening of December 4th 2021. Ms. P underwent forced (coercive) conversion for 17 days before being saved in dramatic circumstances with the help of her older brother.
CCTV police footage showed the parents of Ms. P, two representatives from her mother's church and three men taping Ms. P's mouth and carrying her to a car parked outside the family's front door. In addition, a notebook recording details of the forced conversion plan was found inside the family home. Ms. P underwent forced confinement for 17 days.
Ms. P said, “I am shocked at the fact that there are still many places in Korea where people are forced to undergo forced conversion, simply because of their religious affiliation.” She asserts there being no improvement in this regard in Korea.

CCTV footage captures several men carrying Ms. P, masked in bedding, as they exit the apartment building (photo provided by the victim)

The case of the late Ji-in Gu, who lost her life while undergoing forced conversion because of her religious affiliation, sent shockwaves throughout Korea and overseas. Although four years have passed, it is clear that forced conversion and its hidden acts of imprisonment and violence continues unabated.

In short, forced conversion is 'violence' perpetrated in the guise of religion. It targets members of a group that the Korean church labels a 'cult'. It involves a pastor called 'a cult counsellor' who mobilises the victim's family and relatives to kidnap, confine and force their loved one to convert to Christianity by any means. It is an act that opposes Article 20 Clause 1 of the Korean Constitution, which states 'all citizens shall enjoy freedom of religion'. However, forced conversion is often dismissed in Korea as a 'family problem' and 'religious matter'. Following the death of the late Ms. Gu, who was a member of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji Church of Jesus) and who was forcibly confined, pressured to convert and died from violence inflicted by her own family, voices calling for the eradication of forced conversion began to spread like wildfire.

Despite the cries of hundreds of thousands of voices for the eradication of forced conversion, it remains. The number of forced conversion victims has not changed. In fact, according to the Human Rights Association for Victims of the Coercive Conversion Programs (HAC), as of October 2020, the total number of forced conversion victims reached 1725. In 2020 alone, there were 180 cases of forced conversion.

The damage inflicted by forced conversion is severe. Per type, there have been 2 deaths, 946 kidnappings, 1131 acts of forced confinement, 579 acts of assault, 100 acts of drugging with sleeping pills, 200 cases of forced leave of absence from school or work, and 32 cases of forced divorce. According to the results of a survey of about 900 major subjects of forced conversion, 55% of victims complained that they were threatened and indoctrinated during the counselling process, and 52% had been forcibly detained. 42% of victims said they had been kidnapped and taken away. There even existed 2% of cases whereby victims were forcibly admitted to a psychiatric ward for refusing to convert. Female victims proclaimed feelings of 'shame (171 cases, 34.5%)', 'powerlessness or depression (152 cases, 31%)', and 'suicidal ideation (50 cases, 10.1%)'.

The prevailing view is that forced conversion proliferates because it is 'profit-making'. At a seminar on heresies, Pastor Yong-sik Jin of Ansan Sangnok Church, who oversees the forced conversion operation, urged pastors to take part in forced conversion, saying, “The income from one forced conversion is more valuable than the lives of 100 of these believers.” Along with the growth of heresy seminars, there is growing awareness of forced conversion's money-making plan, resulting in an increase of forced conversion pastors throughout Korea, as well as the number of forced conversion victims.

Above all, it has been underlined that the continual cases of forced conversion are being disregarded by government and judicial institutions as a family problem. A representative of the group affected by forced conversion appealed to this newspaper during an interview, saying, "Even if police are dispatched to the scene after receiving a report, if the kidnapped member's family alleges it is a 'family matter', the situation will often end without further action being taken."

Experts have emphasised the illegality of forced conversion and urged for actionable countermeasures. In an interview with this newspaper, Chang-soo Lee, Chairman of the Institute for Corporate Rights and Social Affairs, said, “There exists an erroneous pattern of behaviour in Korea that can inhibit individuals from freely engaging in religious activities in the name of one's ‘family’. It is wrong to force this on them.”

Seung-yong Yoon, director of the Korea Research Institute for Religion and Society, said, “Due to cult-framing, many believers have become unwillingly immersed in a religious cult victim mentality. We have to think deeply about this.”

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Cases of Coercive Conversion (also known as 'Forced Conversion' or 'Deprogramming'), Korea
Interview with Victim of Forced Conversion in Busan: “They told me Granddad was Sick. He wasn't. I was Imprisoned and Forced to Convert”

18-day Forcible Confinement on Pretext of 'Religion': "Coercive Conversion" in 21st Century South Korea

"Pastors Even Instigated Divorce When Coercive Conversion Failed, And My Children Were Taken From Me"
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/02/pastors-even-instigated-divorce-when.html

Adult Male Drugged With Sleeping Pills For Coercive Conversion - His Refusal Led to Parent's One-Person Protest
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/02/adult-male-drugged-with-sleeping-pills.html

Admitted to a Psychiatric Ward Because of My Faith at Shincheonji - Where Are My Rights?
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/02/admitted-to-psychiatric-ward-because-of.html

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

Cancer Patient Abducted and Forced to Undergo Coercive Conversion at Protestant Church in Korea
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/cancer-patient-abducted-and-forced-to.html

A Woman in Her 20s Suffocated to Death While Forcibly Confined - Do You Know the Case Involving 'Ji-In Gu'?
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-woman-in-her-20s-suffocated-to-death.html

Husband Paid Pastor 3,000,000 Korean Won For Me To Undergo Coercive Conversion
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/husband-paid-pastor-3000000-korean-won.html

"The Only Thing Left Was Divorce - Who Is Responsible?"
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-only-thing-left-behind-was-divorce.html?m=0

Confined in a Remote Mountainous Log Cabin - Coercive Conversion Predominantly Targets Shincheonji Church Members (part 1/2)
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/confined-in-remote-mountainous-log.html?m=0

Abduction and Confinement - Coercive (Forced) Conversion in South Korea
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/abduction-and-confinement-coercive.html

I Became a Victim of 'Coercive Conversion' in South Korea Because I'm a Member of Shincheonji Church of Jesus
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/shincheonji-church-victim-of-coercive.html?m=0

Confined in a Remote Mountainous Log Cabin - Coercive Conversion Predominantly Targets Shincheonji Church Members (part 2/2)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/conversion-pastor-set-out-to-convert-me.html

Imprisoned and Starved for Over One Week for Refusing to Renounce My Faith in Shincheonji Church. How Can I Forgive these Conversion Pastors?!
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2021/01/imprisoned-and-starved-for-over-one.html

73-Day Coercive Conversion Programme in Confinement for Attending Shincheonji Church - I Fled Mid-Winter through the Bathroom Window
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/12/73-day-coercive-conversion-programme-in.html?m=0

Targets of 'Forced Conversion' Suffering 'Kidnap, Confinement, Brainwashing' - Female College Students, Pregnant Women, Vulnerable Cancer Patients.
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/12/targets-of-forced-conversion-suffering.html

1000s of Cases of Abduction, Confinement and Assault: Shocking Stats Expose South Korea's Shameful 'Coercive Conversion' Endemic
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/12/1000s-of-cases-of-abduction-confinement.html

International Community's Petition for an End to Coercive Conversion, While National Human Rights Commission of Korea Turns A Blind Eye
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/12/international-communitys-petition-for.html

Allegation "Shincheonji Stole My Daughter" Found to Be a Lie
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/12/allegation-shincheonji-stole-my.html

Imprisoned in a Country Pension to Undergo Coercive Conversion because of My Life of Faith at Shincheonji Church of Jesus
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/10/imprisoned-in-countryside-pension-to.html

“Forced to Undergo 'Coercive Conversion' Thrice Within Two Years, Even Confined in a Psychiatric Ward Simply Due to My Faith at Shincheonji Church of Jesus"
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/10/forced-to-undergo-coercive-conversion.html

“Liars Allege that Shincheonji Church Confiscates Property, Destroys Families & Endorses Coercive Conversion. It’s Coercive Conversion Pastors Who Do Such Things!”
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/10/liars-allege-that-shincheonji-church.html?m=0

Confined on the 2nd floor of a Police Station to Stop me from Living my Life of Faith at Shincheonji Church. With a Crippled Arm, I Was Dragged Away for Coercive Conversion
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/10/confined-on-2nd-floor-of-police-station.html?m=0

Imprisoned for 2½ months in a secluded location in the mountains. My ‘crime’? Being a believer at Shincheonji Church
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/10/imprisoned-for-2-months-in-secluded.html

“Although I managed to evade 'coercive conversion' with every pastor in town brought in by fleeing to the army, harassment continued"
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/09/although-i-managed-to-evade-coercive.html?m=0

“Incitement of Hatred Towards Shincheonji Tears Families Apart"
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/09/incitement-of-hatred-towards.html

“Conversion Pastor Caused Newlyweds to Divorce, Promoting Division and Conflict Among Both Families”
⇨https://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/09/conversion-pastor-caused-newlyweds-to.html?m=0

Drugged and Abducted, Chained and Imprisoned...Yet Police Respond to Three Separate Appeals With the Words "We Can't Help You"
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/09/drugged-and-abducted-chained-and.html

“Adult Male Kidnapped, Drugged, Handcuffed & Forced into a Suitcase for the Purpose of Coercive Conversion" (18th June 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/06/adult-male-kidnapped-drugged-handcuffed.html

'Counselling Education'? No - 'Coercive Conversion' & Human Rights Abuses. Controversy Surrounds YTN As Its News Anchor Becomes Head Speaker at CBS' 'Shincheonji Counselling' Programme (June 25th 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/06/counselling-education-no-coercive.html

Coercive Conversion in Present-Day South Korea: Amoral Pastors Who Deceive Parents for Money
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/06/coercive-conversion-in-present-day.html

"Mum’s Piercing Words, 'Get out of the House, you Bi*ch!' Yet Later Protested 'Bring Back my Daughter!'" (Cheonji Daily, 10th June 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/06/mums-piercing-words-get-out-of-house.html

"It’s because of 'Shincheonji Church' Vs. 'It's Parents Who Kidnap and Confine their Children'. Who's to blame?" (Cheonji Daily, 5th June 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/06/its-because-of-shincheonji-church-vs.html

“Kidnapped & Confined: Coercive Conversion Abuses Parents’ Love & Must Be Eliminated”
(Cheonji Daily 2nd June 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/06/kidnapped-confined-coercive-conversion.html

“Coercive Conversion Pastor Treated me like an Animal and Instigated Mistrust Within my Family”
(Cheonji Daily 1st June 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/06/coercive-conversion-pastor-treated-me.html

Is This A Communist ‘People's Court'? The Deception of Coercive Conversion
(Cheonji Daily 21st May 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/05/is-this-communist-peoples-court.html

Restrained with Sleeping Pills…Resisted Forced Conversion, but was Assaulted and Eventually Fainted
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/05/restrained-with-sleeping-pillsresisted.html

Drugged, Handcuffed, Kidnapped, Confined; it’s OK, they Belong to Shincheonji! Today’s ‘Cult Framing' that Violates Human Rights and Tears Families Apart
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/05/drugged-handcuffed-kidnapped-confined.html

“Kidnapped and Confined Without Shower or Food, and Sexually Shamed”
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/05/kidnapped-and-confined-without-shower.html

"Family deceived and manipulated into locking up and beating pregnant family member. 'Peace' will be found when truth is revealed"
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/05/family-deceived-and-manipulated-into.html

"They forced me to remove my underwear in front of relatives in a car. I'm a 30 year-old woman”
(Cheonji Daily 28th April 2020)
⇨http://noahbrown1984.blogspot.com/2020/04/they-forced-me-to-remove-my-underwear.html
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