Seoul City Cancels HWPL Corporation Establishment Permit Related to Shincheonji Affiliated Organizations

Seoul city officials are entering the sanctuary to conduct an on-site administrative investigation at the Shincheonji Jesus Church Bartholomew Branch headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on the 17th of last month. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 24th that it will revoke the corporate establishment approval of the nonprofit corporation Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an affiliated organization of Shincheonji.

The city explained that it conducted a comprehensive investigation including a rigorous administrative inquiry into HWPL, testimonies from people who have been harmed by Shincheonji, and evidence gathered through media reports, and as a result, found multiple violations corresponding to the cancellation of corporate establishment under Article 38 of the Civil Act, leading to this action.

First, Seoul had set the condition for corporate establishment approval that HWPL must comply with its articles of association and related laws, but it was revealed that HWPL did not hold regular general meetings after its establishment and did not conduct accounting audits, thus operating the corporation without following the relevant procedures.

Additionally, although Seoul initially approved HWPL's corporate purpose as "cultural exchange and support for developing countries," HWPL was actually conducting religious activities jointly with the Shincheonji Church under the pretext of peace projects through religious unification, thus engaging in activities outside its stated purpose.

It was also pointed out that HWPL promoted false claims such as receiving international awards and caused domestic and international public controversy by illegally occupying public facilities, thereby infringing on the public interest.

To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the city carried out emergency disinfection and closure measures at HWPL's corporate office on February 29, and conducted a total of four administrative investigations throughout March. On the 10th of this month, a hearing was held to revoke HWPL's corporate establishment approval, but HWPL did not attend the hearing and only submitted a written statement.

Seoul's International Cooperation Officer Bae Hyun-sook said, "Through this administrative investigation, violations corresponding to cancellation of corporate establishment such as breach of approval conditions, conducting activities outside the stated purpose, and infringement of public interest were confirmed," adding, "We will prevent abuse of the corporate system and the occurrence of innocent victims due to disguised religious activities by revoking the corporate establishment approval."

Prior to this, on the 26th of last month, Seoul also revoked the corporate establishment approval of the nonprofit corporation Sae Haneul Sae Ttang Evidence Tabernacle Church Jesus Mission, established by Shincheonji.

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