https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/005/0000915342?sid=001
Published: July 4, 2016, 9:55 PM | Updated: July 5, 2016, 10:11 AM
Kookmin Ilbo has won two final lawsuits filed by the World Mission Society Church of God (formerly Ahnsahnghong Witnesses) for retraction reports and 4.4 billion KRW in damages. One remaining lawsuit claiming 2 billion KRW is still ongoing, but this ruling is seen as a significant victory, broadening the scope of criticism against the church.
The Supreme Court (3rd Division, Chief Justice Kim Shin) dismissed all claims for retraction reports and damages filed by the church against Kookmin Ilbo, granting only a minor counter-argument report. The ruling enables Korean churches to freely criticize the World Mission Society Church of God as a conditional end-time group.
In its decision, the Supreme Court stated:
“Upon reviewing the relevant legal principles and records, the judgment of the appellate court is justified,” dismissing all appeals.
Kookmin Ilbo had previously exposed the church in three articles published in April-May 2014:
In response, the church filed lawsuits demanding 6.4 billion KRW in damages and retraction or counter-argument reports. Despite employing the prominent law firm LKB & Partners (led by attorney Lee Kwang-beom), they lost most of the claims.
The Supreme Court’s ruling completely dismissed the 4.4 billion KRW damages and all demands for retraction. Only a minor counter-argument report was granted, which merely allows the church’s objections to be published for fairness without challenging the truth of the articles.
This ruling enables the Korean Church to publicly criticize the World Mission Society Church of God for causing anxiety through conditional end-times claims in 1988, 1999, and 2012, while accumulating trillions of won in assets through such practices. The court’s decision also empowers the public to issue preventative guidelines against the church’s methods, which include targeting women in their 20s to 40s and exploiting apartments labeled as traditional churches.
This judgment has reignited discussions about creating a Cults Regulation Law to combat groups like the World Mission Society Church of God and Shincheonji, accused of destroying individuals’ lives and family happiness.
Jin Yong-sik, Chairman of the Korean Christian Heresy Counseling Association, praised Kookmin Ilbo, stating:
“Freedom of religion includes the freedom to criticize. Today’s heretical groups are trying to suppress healthy criticism protected by the Constitution through overwhelming lawsuits. Kookmin Ilbo has made a great contribution by risking a costly lawsuit to expose the reality of conditional end-time groups.”
He added, “With this landmark Supreme Court ruling, Korean churches can now freely criticize the World Mission Society Church of God. I hope the final pending lawsuit will also be resolved fairly, and I urge churches nationwide to pray and support this cause.”