Former President Chun Doo-hwan's second son, Chun Jae-yong. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Han-ah Na] Jeon Jae-yong (57), the second son of former President Jeon Du-hwan, is studying at a seminary and pursuing the path of a pastor.
Jeon Jae-yong and his wife Park Sang-a appeared on the Far East Broadcasting Company's program "People I Want to Meet, Stories I Want to Hear" on the 5th, stating, "After receiving the acceptance notice from the seminary, I told my parents," and added, "My father is suffering from dementia to the extent that he forgets even brushing his teeth, but when I said I would walk the path of a pastor, he was happier than I could have imagined."
They continued, "My father said, 'I will attend the church you serve as a pastor.' That made me firmly decide that I must become a pastor," they added.
When Pastor Kim Jang-hwan, the host, asked, "Why did you suddenly decide to go to seminary?" Jeon explained, "On the morning of July 1, 2016, I went down to the parking lot after 6 a.m. to go to work, but I was caught there and taken to prison. I spent 2 years and 8 months in prison. When I first sat in my cell and looked outside through the bars, I suddenly heard the sound of hymns."
He added, "I found out there was a religious room. The person singing the hymn was very bad at singing, but it made me cry a lot and want to attend worship."
On the broadcast, his wife Park Sang-a mentioned that she initially opposed Jeon's theological studies.
Park said, "I was absolutely against it. People like us, who are obviously sinners, actually want to hide the fact that we believe in God, and to even do ministry seemed like it would overshadow God's glory too much," adding, "As soon as my husband was released, we fought a lot and I said it was impossible, but it seems God's thoughts are different from ours."
Jeon is currently studying at Baekseok University Seminary, and the couple attends Pangyo Woori Church in Gyeonggi Province, where they serve as deacons.
Meanwhile, Jeon was previously tried for failing to pay 2.7 billion KRW in capital gains tax by falsely writing a down contract stating he sold land in Osan City, Gyeonggi Province, for 32.5 billion KRW when it was actually sold for 44.5 billion KRW in 2006.
Subsequently, in 2015, the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of 3 years imprisonment with 4 years probation and a fine of 4 billion KRW. Jeon failed to pay 3.86 billion KRW of the fine and was sentenced to 965 days (about 2 years and 8 months) of labor on July 1, 2016. After performing cleaning labor at Wonju Prison, he was released on February 20 of last year.
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