The once unknown term 'forced conversion' became a serious topic in South Korean society in 2008 after Pastor Yong-Sik Jin sent Mrs. Baek-Hyang Jeong to a psychiatric ward in order to carry out forced conversion. He was later punished by law. At that time Pastor Jin, who headed up the Heresy Investigation Committee of the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), forcibly converted believers who belonged to denominations of the established church labelled so-called 'cults', including Mrs. Jeong’s. Such cases began to rise in leaps and bounds. At first, pastors carried out ‘forced conversion’ (also termed ‘deprogramming’ or ‘coercive conversion’) themselves, but later altered their approach. Today, forced conversion pastors instil fear and anxiety in the families of Shincheonji Church members by slandering Shincheonji Church, so that families are deceived into believing their beloved child, wife or parent has fallen into a ‘cult’ and are prone to making immediate hasty decisions. In order to prevent this, forced conversion programs tainted by illegal practices that include kidnap, confinement and violence become the 'last straw' to save the family. In 21st century South Korea, where issues around religious freedom have been brought to the limelight, ‘forced conversion’ continues unabated. This paper intends to serialise the distressing appeals of victims who have had to endure human rights violations and oppression through forced conversion, and are otherwise unable to voice their plea.

“Forced to take leave of absence and enlist in the military
Confined at the police station
Dragged to a forced conversion site”

[Chunji Ilbo = Reporter Kang Soo-kyung] A young man who had fallen and broken his arm was left confined at a police station where he was made to undergo forced conversion for the “crime” of being a believer at Shincheonji Church. He was threatened to apply for a leave of absence and enlist in the military.

The victim testifies that he had not committed any crime and was unjustly imprisoned at a police station. Terrified and vulnerable, he tried to escape, but couldn’t and had to undergo the ‘coercive conversion programme’ despite his broken arm.

This is the true story of Mr. Gyeong-jae Kim (pseudonym) of Ochi neighbourhood, Buk district, Gwangju city. Nine years ago, Mr. Kim was left scarred for life. What follows is a full account of Mr. Kim's appeal.

I studied at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, Jeonnam province, and am a Christian who serves God.

The reason I am writing this plea is that, although I have little understanding of the laws of the world, I must make the truth known about a horribly unjust situation.

My hometown is Namhae county, Gyeongnam province, where I was born and raised. At the time of the incident. I was majoring at Chonnam University, Gwangju.

Around 8pm on July 2nd 2011, I arrived back in my hometown of Namhae to spend my birthday with family. Unbeknown to me, my family had become recipients to all kinds of slander about Shincheonji Church - my place of worship - by a local ‘conversion pastor’ named Yoon Mo who maintained that it was a terrible place to belong. Acting upon pastor Yoon’s deceptive counsel, my family had completed all preparations for me to undergo coercive conversion.

Suspecting nothing untoward, I returned home to find two men who I had never met before, threatening me to take a leave of absence from work and enlist in the military.

Then at around midnight, two police officers stormed into our house and dragged me to the police station without giving me any reason. I was held there against my will on the second floor of Namhae Central Police Station. I was terrified throughout this process and jumped out of the second floor, severely damaging my back and arm.

I had major surgery with dozens of metal implants inserted into my arm. Yet my arm was broken and I was unable to extend it. I was left disabled.

Following initial surgery at Gyeongnam Namhae Hospital, the metal implants protruded from my elbow and the water continued to flow. Although being in great pain, no one cared, and under the direction of a conversion pastor I was dragged off to a secluded location called Jeonnam Mo Training Center where I was forced to undergo the profit-making coercive conversion programme conducted by pastor Yoon.

I was imprisoned, deprived of freedom to communicate with the outside world and forced to sign a consent form drafted for me. Without doing so, there would have been no hope of escape. As I would later learn, other like victims had suffered in exactly the same way.

The pain was unbearable and I had to find a way to flee so I pretended to accept ‘conversion counselling’ and was moved to a new education centre belonging to ‘A Church’ in Gwangju, which pastor Yoon heads. It was Yoon who had instructed my family to secure a studio near ‘A Church’.

I appealed to the legal system and declared all damages and injuries incurred, but was told that the evidence was insufficient. All the perpetrators got away scot-free. It’s beyond my understanding how this was not deemed a criminal matter. I was, in other words, threatened and forced to do something against my will in front of my family. Yet even the police had joined forces to mobilise public power for personal use, using public property and spaces to arrest me (the plaintiff) and confine me to the second floor of a police station. Not only had I seriously injured myself in my attempts to flee for my own life, but I remained confined for a considerable period of time thereafter. I refuse to accept the current condition of the Korean legal system, which failed to deem acts such as hiding my location from fellow church friends who were in search of me as unlawful.

Indeed if this were not a criminal issue, why did the local police department and station even apologise for their behaviour following this incident? They came to the church I attend, apologised for their unlawful handling of the case and asked to be pardoned. It is a complete contradiction.

In the past, there was a case involving a woman who was raped, murdered and diced who would have lived had it not been for the careless response by police who received a report. Another case involved a husband who reported his wife as a missing person and prone to suicide. The husband even disclosed her likely location to police but they failed to carry out an investigation. In the end, his wife took her own life. It’s not untrue to say that her death was due to police negligence.

Although the abovementioned case is rare, it is hard to fathom how the prosecution could have failed to cross-check the police officer's investigative report, and how the officer was then able to raise the case to a higher level falling directly under his supervision, give his own opinion and dismiss the case. It is utterly incomprehensible.

Even now, conversion pastor Yoon is using the conversion programme to make a name for himself, using ‘religion’ as means to carry out coercive conversion and manipulate families to their own destruction while he evades the laws of the world.

How long will these criminals deceive their own conscience and mock the laws of this country and of heaven? The truth will undoubtedly be revealed one day.

2000 years ago, leading religious and worldly authorities became one and charged God’s Son and disciples in court, condemning them as ‘heretics’ and ultimately killing them. God has recorded this fact in the Bible yet their actions have not changed since then. Surely those who condemned and killed the Son of God through the laws of this world would not have imagined their actions would be recorded in the Bible and made clear for us to see today.

I am distraught that the human rights of law-abiding Koreans are brutally violated simply because of thoughts and religious beliefs that differ from the Church with its vested interests. My sincere plea is for the truth to be revealed through a thorough and impartial investigation. Please carefully review the case in question and verify whether there are any incomplete investigations or unlawful judgments so that, as an unwilling victim, I can find hope in our judicial system.
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