Shincheonji Church of Jesus Responds to Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Dong-yeon Kim's Petition Response: “Clear Religious Suppression”, “Administrative Tyranny Revealed”
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Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Dong-yeon Kim expressed “regret” over the last-minute cancellation of the Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park rental, but Shincheonji Church of Jesus once again refuted the claims, saying it was “clear religious oppression.”
Previously, Shincheonji Church of Jesus had planned to rent out Pyeonghwa Nuri Park in Paju on the 29th and 30th of October to hold the international event 'Religious Leaders' Forum and Graduation Ceremony for Peace, Freedom, and Unification'. However, on the day of the rental, Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Dong-yeon Kim and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization unilaterally cancelled the event, even though the Organization had stated until the day before that there were "no plans to cancel," citing 'security with the North' as the reason. Despite months of preparations, the event, which was scheduled to welcome 30,000 attendees from 78 countries, was cancelled last minute under alleged pressure from vested religious groups.
In response, on the 3rd of last month, Shincheonji filed a petition on the Gyeonggi Provincial Government website titled, “We request a public apology and compensation for the damages caused by Governor Dong-yeon Kim’s unfair decision to cancel the venue,” and the petition has garnered 44,888 signatures.
In his response to the petition, Governor Kim recently said, “On October 31st, a group of families of abductees attempted to scatter anti-North Korea leaflets at Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park.” He added, “After considering the situation, the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, which approved the use of Pyeonghwa Nuri Park, decided to cancel.”
In relation to this, Shincheonji asked in an official statement, “If security was the issue, why did you allow the venue to be rented in the first place?”
Shincheonji Church of Jesus has also highlighted the fact that several other events were held at the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park in the week following the cancellation, and emphasised that “this incident is a clear religious oppression of Shincheonji” and that “Governor Kim’s administrative actions have completely lost their fairness and will go down in history as an abuse of power that discriminates against a specific religion.”
What follows is the full statement by Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
[Shincheonji Church of Jesus’ position on Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon’s petition response]
The petition response from Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon once again revealed that this cancellation of the rental was an obvious administrative act without any basis or procedure. Governor Kim Dong-yeon is avoiding responsibility with a formal expression of “regret” and a theoretical response without providing a clear legal basis for the cancellation of the rental. Through our petition, we demanded that the legal basis for the cancellation of the rental, the decision-making process, and an apology and compensation plan be disclosed. However, even after more than a month, Governor Kim Dong-yeon has not provided a single clear response.
I ask Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon: If security was the issue, why did he allow the opening in the first place?
Governor Kim Dong-yeon cited 'military tension' as the reason for canceling the event. If military tension was such a serious problem, the event should not have been approved. Canceling the event on the day after allowing the event is an administrative act of intentional insult and suppression of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
On October 16, Gyeonggi Province issued an administrative order to designate a risk zone and prohibit acts to prohibit the distribution of anti-North Korean leaflets due to security threats. However, they suddenly canceled a religious event that had nothing to do with security, citing “resident damage due to security threats.” If Governor Kim Dong-yeon’s response is correct, the situation should have been explained to Shincheonji Church of Jesus and discussed on October 16 when the risk zone was designated. If security was really the issue, why did they maintain the approval for the venue? Why didn’t they say anything?
Even though the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization received several requests to confirm that there were no problems with the event, they stated that they had no plans to cancel the day before the event. Nevertheless, the cancellation was forced on the day of the event at the order of Governor Kim Dong-yeon. This is an arrogant abuse of power that caused enormous damage to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and ignored the tens of thousands of domestic and international figures who were planning to attend the event.
Problems with Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon's Petition Response
1. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon failed to provide legal grounds for the cancellation of the lease.
We demanded a legal basis for the cancellation of the rental, but Governor Kim Dong-yeon only mentioned the basic regulations and failed to provide specific legal grounds to justify the unprecedented decision to cancel the rental on the day. This is clear evidence of how unfair and illegal this administrative measure is.
2. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon failed to transparently disclose the administrative process even though he made the unprecedented decision to cancel the event on the same day.
Governor Kim Dong-yeon did not transparently disclose the process and reason for canceling a large-scale event attended by foreign dignitaries on the same day. This administrative procedure undermines fairness and deceives the public.
3. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon failed to offer an apology or compensation to the victims.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus and overseas participants suffered enormous damages due to this cancellation. However, Governor Kim Dong-yeon tried to cover up the situation with a formal expression of “regret” and did not mention any compensation measures. This is no different from mocking the victims.
This incident is a clear religious persecution of Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
The administrative actions of Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon have completely lost their fairness and will be recorded in history as an abuse of power that discriminates against a specific religion. His attitude of trying to justify an unfair decision using the safety of the residents as an excuse is an act of mocking the people. We can no longer trust the phrase “safety of the residents.”
Due to the cancellation on the day of the event, Shincheonji Church of Jesus suffered enormous financial damages in the hundreds of billions of won and international reputation damage. All of these results were the result of Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon’s arbitrary decision.
We strongly demand this of Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon.
1. Immediately disclose the clear legal basis and decision-making process for cancellation of the contract.
2. Make an official apology to Shincheonji Church of Jesus and its participants and propose a compensation plan.
3. Establish measures to prevent recurrence of administrative discrimination against specific religions.
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon's decision to cancel the official visit will go down in history as an example of oppression of a specific religion and unjust administrative violence.
Stop evading responsibility and restore the freedom of religion and fair administration guaranteed by the Constitution. We will continue to take all legal and social measures until Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon admits responsibility for the cancellation of the event and shows sincere actions to restore the damage.
December 9, 2024
Shincheonji Church of Jesus
Source: vo.la/UunYZY
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