Love Fruit "Shincheonji 12 Billion Won, Will Return Due to Public Sentiment"

Lee Man-hee, the Chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, held a press conference related to COVID-19 on the afternoon of the 2nd at the Shincheonji Peace Training Center in Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province, while showing the 'Chairman's Special Letter.'
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] The Community Chest of Korea, also known as the Fruit of Love, announced on the 5th that it will return 12 billion KRW donated by Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji).

The Community Chest decided this after discussing how to handle the donation from Shincheonji, citing "the unfavorable public sentiment toward Shincheonji" as an unavoidable factor.

The Community Chest considered issues such as accountability that may arise after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, potential compensation lawsuits from Shincheonji, and the possibility that the donation could become subject to subrogation claims.

A representative from the Community Chest stated, "We were not continuously monitoring the account, so we did not know the money had been deposited. We only found out after seeing the news reports."

Community Chest of Korea, Fruit of Love (Community Chest) / Photo by Yonhap News

On the same day, the Community Chest requested the account number from Shincheonji to return the donation, but was unable to do so as Shincheonji did not respond.

Shincheonji transferred 12 billion KRW to the Community Chest's account without prior notice to the organization.

In a statement released that morning revealing the donation, Shincheonji said, "The funds will be used for disaster relief activities and support supplies in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, which are struggling due to the spread of COVID-19, as well as nationwide." Of the donation, 10 billion KRW was deposited to the Community Chest's Daegu branch, and 2 billion KRW to the central office.

On the 6th, the Community Chest plans to return the funds immediately upon receiving the account number and publicly disclose this fact.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.