Korean Church Law Association Urges Withdrawal of "Bill to Prevent Church-State Collusion"

The Korean Church Law Association issued a statement on April 13, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the "Bill to Prevent Church-State Collusion" (Partial Amendment to the Civil Act) submitted to the National Assembly. The association stated that the bill poses a serious risk of infringing upon the constitutional freedom of religion and private property rights, emphasizing that the issue of anti-social religious organizations should be addressed through the enactment of a separate special law rather than by amending the Civil Act.

The 37th Academic Seminar of the Korean Church Law Association: 'Dissolution of Antisocial Religious Groups and Separation of Religion and State'

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In its statement released on the same day, the association argued that although the partial amendment to the Civil Act, sponsored by Assemblyman Choi Hyukjin, claims to eradicate corruption within anti-social religious organizations, in reality, it constitutes "unconstitutional excessive legislation" by potentially allowing administrative authorities to intervene arbitrarily in the internal affairs of religious groups.

The association particularly pointed out that introducing the broad criteria of "violation of the separation of church and state" into the Civil Act, which applies to general corporations, to dissolve religious corporations and transfer their assets to the national treasury, could undermine the very foundation of the rule of law.

Furthermore, the association criticized the bill for failing to adequately address the core harms perpetrated by anti-social religious organizations-such as gaslighting, extortion of offerings, and family destruction-while instead providing grounds for dissolution based on politically contentious criteria like "church-state collusion" or violations of the Public Official Election Act. The association also noted that in the case of the dissolution of the Unification Church in Japan, the main reason was not political collusion, but rather the prolonged, systematic extortion of illegal donations.

The association also raised concerns regarding the provision on the transfer of remaining assets to the national treasury. It argued that, since the assets of religious organizations are collective property created through the voluntary donations of believers, any dissolution of such corporations should prioritize compensating affected believers. The association stated that the uniform transfer of assets to the treasury is contrary to the principle of private autonomy under the Civil Act and the constitutional guarantee of private property rights.

As an alternative, the association proposed enacting a tentatively titled "Law on the Dissolution of Anti-Social Religious Organizations." It stated that, on March 30, it held its 37th academic seminar under the theme of "Dissolution of Anti-Social Religious Organizations and Separation of Church and State" to discuss the withdrawal of the Civil Act amendment and the enactment of a special law together with legal scholars.

Additionally, the association asserted that, referencing legislative examples from France and Japan, a specialized task force should be formed and a separate law should be established to effectively sanction the harms caused by anti-social religious organizations.

A representative of the Korean Church Law Association stated, "The Civil Act amendment, which seeks to grant administrative authorities unlimited investigative and dissolution powers and effectively confiscate religious property, is fundamentally at odds with the principles of democracy and the separation of church and state. The National Assembly should heed the concerns of religious circles and legal scholars, immediately withdraw the bill, and pursue the enactment of a special law as a practical alternative."

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