[Cheonji Ilbo = Correspondent Min-hee Kim] The death of a church member due to severe persecution has been condemned as deplorable by Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Chairman Man-hee Lee), with its cause being attributed to pastors of the heresy counselling centre who practice forced conversion. Calls have been made to the government for the eradication of this practice.

In a statement issued on the 27th in the name of 'Shincheonji Church of Jesus', Shincheonji Church of Jesus said, “On June 16, 2022, a woman was murdered by her ex-husband for her faith in Shincheonji Church of Jesus. The members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus are lamenting over her death.”

At 5:40pm on the 16th June, a member of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, 'Mrs. A', was stabbed to death with a knife wielded by her former husband, 'B', in Buk-myeon, Jeongeup city, Jeollabuk province. Suspect B wielded a weapon at Mrs. A and her sister-in-law at the store run by her brother-in-law. As a result, Mrs. A and her sister-in-law died, and his brother-in-law was seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus continued, “Is it OK to be killed because I am a member of Shincheonji Church of Jesus? This is because of certain Christian media  outlets, such as CBS, who together with the pastors of heresy counselling centres belonging to the established churches, slander Shincheonji Church of Jesus for the purpose of financial gain through forced conversion.”

On the 18th, Shincheonji Church of Jesus issued an official statement condemning the report by CBS NoCut News. Shincheonji Church of Jesus pointed out, “When No Cut News reported on this incident, the article was titled “'Separated from Child Because of Shincheonji...Man in 40s murders his ex', seeking to justify the murderer's motive.” The statement also highlighted, “The CBS reporter asked the suspect, 'Did you commit the crime because your wife fell into Shincheonji which separated you from your child?'”

In a statement released more recently, Shincheonji Church of Jesus has said, “CBS has become the mouthpiece of the established denominations and is encouraging forced conversion. It is deplorable.”

Shincheonji Church of Jesus has urged the government to ▲ shut down the heresy counselling centre ▲ punish pastors for carrying out forced conversion▲ shut down CBS ▲ enact a law that prohibits forced conversion.