Original source (KOR): https://www.kportalnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=21429
Reporter Park In-jae approved 2023.10.18 09:42
↑ Pastor Oh Pyeong-ho was chosen as a witness in the late Pastor Baek Dong-seop’s defamation case
The court decided to hear the testimony of Pastor Oh Pyeong-ho, the only survivor among the seven members of the Stewardship Education Institute, as a witness.
This is to reveal whether it is true that Shincheonji damaged the reputation of the late Pastor Baek Dong-seop.
The 2nd Civil Affairs Division of Anyang Branch of Suwon District Court (Judges Jeon Seo-young, Lim Hyeon-jun, and Hwang Hye-ryeon) conducted the second defamation trial against the late Pastor Baek Dong-seop on October 12, 2023. On this day, attorney Hong Jong-gap (Mission Law Firm), the plaintiff’s attorney, said, “We will request as witnesses Pastor Oh Pyeong-ho, the only survivor among the seven pastors of the Stewardship Education Institute, Kim ****-tae, who appeared as a witness in a testimony video produced by Shincheonji, and instructor Ji ****-***, a former instructor who left Shincheonji.” He requested the court to accept witnesses by saying, “These are the main witnesses who will prove that the defendant, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, damaged the reputation of the plaintiff by referring to the Stewardship Education Institute, to which the plaintiff belonged, as a ‘destroyer’ and training many members.”
However, lawyer So, the defendant’s lawyer, argued that the court should not accept him Ji as a witness, claiming, “Ji instructor was expelled from Shincheonji for misconduct.”
The court said, “Instructor Ji has a hostile relationship with the defendants, so we will not use him as a witness, but we will call Pastor Oh Pyeong-ho and Kim ****-tae as witnesses and interrogate them.”
The court then asked the plaintiff’s lawyer, “Is it possible to find out the whereabouts of Oh Pyeong-ho and Kim ****-tae?”
and lawyer Hong Jong-gap replied, “I am trying to find out the whereabouts of Pastor Oh Pyeong-ho, and I know Kim ****-tae’s contact information.”
↑ Shincheonji, which teaches that the late Pastor Baek Dong-seop is one of the actual figures of the beast that came up from the sea in Revelation 13
The court set the next date at 3 p.m. on December 7 and announced, “We will conduct fact-checking of the witnesses by the next date, then interrogate them and conclude the hearing.”
Also, at the trial on this day, a debate arose as to whether Shincheonji’s teaching that “Pastor Baek Dong-seop destroyed the tabernacle temple” constituted defamation of the plaintiff.
Regarding this, attorney Hong Jong-gap explained, “If you look at past newspaper articles, you can see that the Tabernacle Temple caused many social problems and caused controversy, but the perspective of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Church members’ view of the Tabernacle Temple is different from that of the general public.”
At the same time, “Shincheonji Church of Jesus has the view that ‘the Tabernacle Temple is a normal church,’ and the reason why their view was formed this way is because of the doctrine that ‘the Stewardship Education Institute, to which the late plaintiff, Pastor Baek Dong-seop, belonged, invaded the Tabernacle Temple and destroyed it.’ “It is because Shincheonji taught it,” he said, adding, “This content is contained in Shincheonji’s doctrine of betrayal-destruction-salvation, and all branches of Shincheonji teach this content to members, so it can be seen as damaging the plaintiff’s reputation.”
The next trial regarding defamation of the late Pastor Baek Dong-seop will be held on December 7.
* Stewardship Education Institute: In Chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation, a beast with ten horns and seven heads appears and a beast like a lamb. The mark of the beast is given by this beast, and religious leader Lee Man-hee claims that the physical fulfillment of the seven heads and ten horns that give the mark of the beast refers to an organization called the Stewardship Education Institute in 1981.
Copyright © Christian Portal News. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited.
Reporter Park In-jae