Police Raid Seoul Presbyterian Church

It was revealed that police received an accusation containing suspicions about the executives of the general assembly of the Korean Presbyterian Church, and confiscated and searched the church headquarters in Suyu-dong, Seoul and related facilities. As police investigations into religious organizations are unusual, the backgrounds of the case are gathering interest.

Pastor Lee, part of the general assembly, accused three executive members for selling land in the possession of the church at a cheap price, and using donations made to help calamity victims for private reasons.

In his accusations, the pastor claimed, “The three executives of the Korean Presbyterian Church sold land in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province at a cheap price, used the money for other purposes, and forged documents to get illegal loans.”

Concerning the donations, he revealed, “In October 2003, former secretary-general pastor K borrowed 100 million won to raise money to lease his private home, and paid it back two years later.” Also, Isu Church in Bangbae-dong, Seoul, which is an affiliate of the Korean Presbyterian Church, was mortgaged to borrow a billion won from a bank. This money was used to purchase Christal Church in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. This was done secretly, without the consent of Isu Church.

In denial to this, the general assembly held a press conference at Academy House in Suyu-dong. They said, “In 2002, it was decided to dispose of land to prepare building funds for the general assembly hall, and Hyangrin Hill in Yongin was one of them. The price of Hyangrin was not fixed since it is placed on a mountain, and because there was no one who wished to buy it, it was sold cheaply.”

Concerning the mortgaging of Isu Church, they explained, “According to convention, there are many cases where churches subscribe their assets into the general assembly foundation, and in cases of emergency, the foundation uses fund money, and disposes of it later. One billion won loaned to purchase Christal Church was completely repaid in August.”