Shincheonji Church of Jesus are in the face of legal pressure, following the sudden cancellation and banning of the use of their venue of choice for their annual graduation ceremony for their theology school, Zion Christian Mission Centre.

Shincheonji allege that Gyeonggi Tourism Organization have committed unconstitutional acts of the sudden blockage of their event, on the premise of religious oppression.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus had rented the Imjingak Peace Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province from October 29 to 31 to hold a Religious Leaders Forum and their 110,000 Graduation Ceremony on the 30th. Tens of thousands of graduates and religious leaders from both Korea and abroad had already entered the country and completed all preparations to participate in the event. Shincheonji had already spent hundreds of billions of won to conduct the event at this scale. However, on the morning of the 29th, it was reported the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization unilaterally cancelled the rental without consultation or notice to the other parties involved.

Frustrations from Shincheonji come from reports that all administrative procedures for the procession of the Religious Leaders Forum and the Graduation Ceremony were of legal nature and in constant cooperation with the Gyeonggi Tourism Organisation – both parties received an approval notice as early as July 22, rental fee from Shincheonji being paid in full on October 2 and on October 16, the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization gave final reviews of all the details of the event, undergoing extensive safety inspections. In particular, on the same day, there was news that Gyeonggi Province had designated the entire Paju City as a danger zone, but under the guise to block the distribution of leaflets to North Korea. Furthermore, on October 23 and 28, figures from the tourism organisation confirmed twice that “there are no plans to cancel the venue booking.”

The Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon had ordered the cancellation of the venue, due to the reason of “provoking North Korea.”

Shincheonji and many others allege that large-scale events that had taken place at Imjingak Peace Nuri had never brought forth any unwanted attention from the nation’s direct opposition. Speculations arose that it was due to the targeting of a specific religious group from the local government.

Knowing that this stemmed from such and that it also defies many aspects of the Korean constitution, it has caused much outcry from those both in and outside of Shincheonji.

Shincheonji are looking to take all possible legal means to resolve the issue if the events proceed in a way where the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization fail to take responsibility, or fail to settle the matter civilly.

Street protests from members within Shincheonji are also being considered.

Shincheonji are also asking for an official public apology from their former event partners, and to put a halt to religious discrimination against them and others.

Freedom of religion has been stressed heavily, with Shincheonji officials stating “freedom of religion is not a subject of negotiation” in order for them and their congregation to exercise their faith without discrimination.