"Forced Dissolution of Shincheonji" Cheong National Petition Reaches 1 Million Signatures

The petition for the "Forced Dissolution of Shincheonji" gained over 1 million supporters by the morning of the 28th. Photo by the Blue House website petition board capture.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] A petition on the Blue House website demanding the forced disbandment of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), identified as the epicenter of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, reached 1 million signatures on the morning of the 28th.

On the 22nd, a petition titled "We Petition for the Forced Disbandment of Shincheonji" was posted on the Blue House petition board. As of 10:48 a.m. on the 28th, the petition had garnered 1,039,825 signatures.

The petitioner stated, "Article 20, Clause 1 of the Constitution guarantees 'freedom of religion,' which includes not only the right to believe in a religion but also the right to refuse it," adding, "Indiscriminate and inhumane proselytizing activities and maintaining an abnormal religious system for the sole benefit of the leader can no longer be considered normal religious activities and constitute illegal acts infringing on the freedom and rights of the majority of the people."

They further added, "Given the serious negative impact and ripple effects of Shincheonji's illegal activities on the constitutional order, the benefit of protecting the Constitution by disbanding Shincheonji overwhelmingly outweighs other considerations."

The petitioner also pointed out, "The recent COVID-19 outbreak in the 'TK region' originating from the Shincheonji Daegu Church was caused by Shincheonji's unethical doctrines and uncooperative attitude," stating, "Although they verbally claim to 'cooperate with the government,' facts revealed by the media show instructions to obstruct epidemiological investigations and quarantine measures, such as 'If contacted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say you did not attend worship' and 'Participate in comment manipulation.'"

Previously, on social networking services (SNS), guidelines circulated advising how to respond if suspected of being a Shincheonji member. These guidelines included false responses such as "I did not attend worship that day" or "I worshiped elsewhere" if it became known that one was a Shincheonji believer.

In response, Shincheonji stated, "As the head of public relations, I have never circulated any internal notices, and we are investigating who within the organization or whether those who slander us created these guidelines."

Meanwhile, the nationwide victims' group composed of families of Shincheonji church members, the National Shincheonji Victims Solidarity (Jeonpiyeon), filed a complaint against the church leader Lee Manhee with the prosecution on the 27th. Jeonpiyeon held a press conference at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, announcing that they had accused Lee Manhee of violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act and embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Jeonpiyeon urged, "Despite the national disaster, Shincheonji leader Lee Manhee has mocked the public by allowing the damage to reach a serious level and consistently lied and concealed information in response to requests for cooperation from state agencies. We demand his arrest and punishment."