MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Religious Freedom: Human Rights Organizations calls for shutdown of the Korea’s Christian Council

People demonstrated to call on “the shutdown of the Christian Council of Korea for its corruption and anti-social controversies”

On January 27, 30,000 people gathered in at Seul’s Gwanghwamun Square in a rally coordinated by the Global Citizens' Human Rights Coalition. People from civil society organizations and religious groups came together calling the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) to be held accountable for their ”unconstitutional actions and ultimately shut down,” local media reported.

A newly founded Federation of 100 civil society groups from the field of women, youth and religions, held “Press Conference and Rally to Call for the Shutdown of the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), an Anti-Nation, Anti-Society, Anti-Religion, and Anti-Peace Organization” in order to demonstrate against a series of social disturbance before a Korean Christian complex.

The CCK has been accused of several controversies among which corruption and anti-religion actions appears. As well as coercive conversion programs which violate religious freedom. The CCK was especially charged with being concerned only with protecting its position of dominance, producing all kinds of false news in response to the growth of churches not registered in the CCK and accusing them of being cults, which brings about division and confusion within religious circles.

With the South Korea’s prosperous economy growth, religious organizations as CCK and the churches “have sought only endless expansion, resulting in the ill effects of excessive materialism and pursuit of power,” Korea Times stated.

According to the Coalition, this event was organized “to disclose the reality of the CCK as a representative Christian majority receiving an indulgence for itself from committing anti-social crimes.”

In the name of participating organizations, the Coalition called on “enactment of a special law against coercive conversion programs to enhance freedom of religion.”

According to Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), the Coalition includes International Women’s Peace Human Rights Commission, Christian Association for Anti-Corruption National Movement, IPYG Youth’s Human Rights Committee, and World Buddhist Summit.