Daegu City Cancels Registration of 'Hanguk Nanum Plus' Amid Suspicions of Shincheonji Front Group

Group Location Unclear and Registration Requirement Violations Confirmed

Seoul city officials are entering the sanctuary to conduct an on-site administrative investigation at the Shincheonji Jesus Church Bartholomew Branch headquarters located in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on the 17th of last month. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Young-wook] Daegu City announced on the 9th that it will cancel the registration of 'Hanguk Nanum Plus NGO (Hannaple),' a nonprofit private organization. This organization has recently been suspected of being a front group for Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which caused the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Daegu City judged that the current location of the 'Hannaple' organization is unclear and that it violated registration requirements such as maintaining the number of members. Therefore, it decided to cancel the nonprofit private organization registration ex officio as of the 10th.

Hannaple (representative Choi Sarang) is an organization mainly engaged in projects such as the Korean History Awareness Campaign, character and filial piety education, and volunteer activities. It was registered as a nonprofit private organization with Daegu City in July 2017.

However, recent media reports raised suspicions that Hannaple is related to the religious group Shincheonji, and Daegu City conducted an on-site investigation regarding the organization.

As a result of the investigation, Hannaple did not install or operate an office at the initially reported main office location (Dalseo-gu), so the organization's location could not be confirmed.

Also, according to the relevant law (Article 2 of the Nonprofit Private Organization Support Act), it must meet the registration requirement of having at least 100 regular members, but it did not submit proof documents for this. Therefore, a hearing was held on the 3rd in accordance with administrative procedures.

Ultimately, the organization’s representative did not attend the hearing and did not submit any explanatory materials. Daegu City decided to cancel the registration ex officio under Article 4 of the Nonprofit Private Organization Support Act.

Chae Hong-ho, Deputy Mayor of Daegu City, said, "We will continue to guarantee voluntary activities and provide support for nonprofit private organizations conducting public interest activities for citizens, but we will strictly deal with organizations that do not comply with the law."