"'Heretical Frame' Killed Again" Shincheonji Anger Over Church Members' 'Extreme Choices' (Summary)

Shincheonji "Over 4,000 Cases of Family Persecution, Stigmatization, and Defamation"

On the afternoon of the 9th, a notice prohibiting the entry of Shincheonji followers was posted at the entrance of the Full Gospel Gangnam Church in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 10th, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji) criticized the suicide of a woman in her 40s, a Shincheonji believer who was under active monitoring for COVID-19, jumping from the apartment where she lived, saying, "'Cult framing' has killed the people again."

Shincheonji issued a press release on the same day, claiming, "Since the COVID-19 outbreak, as public criticism against Shincheonji has increased, another female Shincheonji believer suffering from domestic violence has died."

They added, "The couple had disputes over religious issues for several years, and even recently argued over religious matters. It is known that the husband was not a Shincheonji believer."

According to Jeonbuk Jeongeup Police Station, at around 10:36 p.m. on the 9th, Ms. A (41, female) fell from the 11th floor of an apartment in Suseong-dong, Jeongeup City.

Ms. A was transported to a nearby hospital by the 119 emergency medical team who responded to her husband's report but passed away.

The police believe that Ms. A made an extreme choice on the apartment balcony while her husband was briefly away. No suicide note was found at the scene.

Ms. A was included in the list of Shincheonji believers and was an active monitoring subject managed by Jeongeup City with phone calls twice a day. She was not under self-quarantine. Recent two COVID-19 test results confirmed she was negative.

A police official said, "To clarify the exact cause of death, an autopsy will be requested from the National Forensic Service."

Lee Man-hee, the Chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, is revealing a letter addressed to church members during a press conference held on the 2nd at the Shincheonji Peace Palace in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, regarding the COVID-19 situation.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, on the 26th of last month, a female Shincheonji believer in her 60s, Ms. B, died after falling from a villa in Ulsan.

Shincheonji stated, "Ms. B, a deacon of the Ulsan church who had suffered domestic violence because she was a Shincheonji believer, reported the violence to the police just before her death due to religious issues," and claimed, "Eight days after a COVID-19 case was confirmed in Shincheonji, a death caused by persecution occurred."

Additionally, on the 28th of last month, Shincheonji released a statement on YouTube pointing out, "Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there have been over 4,000 reported cases of workplace persecution and harassment including dismissal notices, domestic persecution, stigmatization, and defamation against Shincheonji believers."

※ If you are experiencing difficult feelings such as depression and need professional help, you can call the suicide prevention hotline 1577-0199, Hope Phone 129, Lifeline 1588-9191, or Youth Phone 1388 for 24-hour counseling.

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