Seoul City Files 5 Billion Won Compensation Lawsuit Against Shincheonji, Sarangjeil, and Seongseok Churches

Claim of 210 million KRW filed against Shincheonji and Seongseok Church in Gangseo-gu
Over 4.6 billion KRW damages lawsuit filed against Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu and Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 18th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it is filing damage compensation lawsuits against Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, and Seongseok Church in Gangseo-gu for violating COVID-19 quarantine rules.

Baek Young-geun, the legal support officer of Seoul City, explained at a regular briefing on the same day, "A total of three damage compensation lawsuits are underway," adding, "The targets are Shincheonji, Sarang Jeil, and Seongseok Church in Gangseo-gu."

Since March last year, the city has filed damage compensation lawsuits against Shincheonji and Seongseok Church in Gangseo-gu. The claimed compensation amount was set at 201 million won each. The lawsuit filed against Seongseok Church in Gangseo-gu has been delayed as the complaint was returned due to 'recipient absence.' The city plans to correct the address to ensure the trial proceeds properly.

Earlier, in September last year, the city filed a damage compensation lawsuit against Sarang Jeil Church and Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, claiming 4.62 billion won. Seoul Metro also filed a damage compensation lawsuit worth 3.358 billion won in December last year.

Officer Baek explained, "Regarding Shincheonji's religious activities, the first trial verdict has been issued, so a court date is expected to be set soon," adding, "In the case of Seongseok Church, the summons was not properly delivered due to recipient absence, so the address is continuously being corrected."

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

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