Sect rebels against hunt for owner of the Sewol
As the prosecution searches for Yoo Byung-eun, the de factor owner of the operator of the sunken ferry Sewol, some believers of the Evangelical Baptist Church barricade themselves on May 13 at the main entrance to the church in Anseong, Gyeonggi. [NEWSIS] 검찰이 침몰한 여객선 세월호의 실질적 소유주인 유병언씨를 찾아내려고 하자 기독교복음침례회 신도들이 5월13일 경기도 안성시 소재 교회로 들어가는 정문에서 몸으로 방어벽을 치고 있다. [뉴시스]
*adherent: 신자, 지지자
*de facto: 사실상의, 실질적인
*overload: 과적하다, 과부하 걸리게 하다
*declare war: 전쟁을 선포하다
과적으로 침몰한 여객선 세월호의 실질적인 소유주 유병언이 창립한 기독교복음침례회의 신도 수백명이 유병언과 그 가족들을 체포하려는 검찰에 전면전을 선포했다.
Jo Gye-wung, a secretariat official of the Evangelical Baptist Church, holds a press conference on May 15 in front of the main gate of the church in Anseong, Gyeonggi, to denounce that prosecutors commit an unfair investigation and a religious suppression. [NEWS1] 조계웅 기독교복음침례회 사무국 담당자가 5월15일 경기도 안성시 교회 정문 앞에서 기자회견을 열고 검찰 수사가 불공평하며 종교탄압을 하고 있다고 주장했다. [뉴스1]
*religious crusade: 십자군 전쟁
그들은 검찰과 경찰이 강제로 교회의 문을 열고 유병언과 그의 장남을 체포하면 “십자군 전쟁”을 벌이겠다고 말했다.
More than 100 adherents of the church, also called “the Salvation sect,” staged a sit-in protest yesterday inside the main gate of the church’s headquarters in a remote mountainous area in Anseong, Gyeonggi, to block prosecutors or police from gaining access.
*sit-in protest: 연좌농성
‘구원파’로 불리는 교회의 신도 1백여명은 검찰과 경찰의 진입을 막기 위해 경기도 안성시 외딴 산간지역내 교회 본당(금수원)의 정문 안에서 어제 연좌농성을 벌였다.
The protesters insisted the church had nothing to do with the ferry disaster on April 16, in which 281 died and 23 are missing. They said they could not confirm whether any of the Yoo family members were in the complex, but claimed no one had seen any.
*have nothing to do with~ : ~와는 전혀 관계가 없다
농성자들은 교회는 4월16일 발생한 여객선 침몰 참사(사망 281명, 실종 23명)와는 전혀 관계가 없다고 주장했다. 그들은 유병언 일가가 금수원 안에 있는지 없는지 확인해줄 수 없고 아무도 유병언 일가를 본 적이 없다고 말했다.
“It is totally nonsense to say there is a connection between the accident [the ferry’s sinking] and the Salvation sect,” Jo Gye-wung, an administrative official at the church, told reporters outside the church’s gate.
조계웅 교회 사무국 담당자는 교회 정문 밖에서 기자들에게 “세월호 침몰 사고와 구원파와 관계가 있다는 주장은 터무니 없는 얘기”라고 말했다.
번역: 이무영 정치사회부장(mooyoung@joongang.co.kr)
Correction and rebuttal statement by the Evangelical Baptist Church
The Korea JoongAng Daily, regarding the reports since April 16, 2014, about the Evangelical Baptist Church (EBC) and Yoo Byung-eun, is publishing the following corrections and an excerpt from the rebuttal statement by the EBC.
Correction
Through three past investigations by the prosecution, it has been revealed that Yoo and the EBC, also known as the “Salvation Group” and Guwonpa in Korean, are not related to the Odaeyang mass suicide incident. That was also confirmed by the prosecution in its official statement on May 21. The prosecution’s investigation also found that Yoo had not made an attempt to smuggle himself out of the country or seek political asylum in France. We, therefore, correct the concerned reports.
Yoo retired from his executive management position in 1997. He did not own any shares in the noted companies, nor had he managed operations or used the operating funds for personal reasons. There are no grounds to call him the actual owner and chairman of the company. As such, he did not provide any directives in regards to the overloading of the Sewol ferry or its renovation.
It was verified that the captain and crew members who abandoned ship at the time of the Sewol ferry accident are not members of the EBC. It has also been verified that the EBC does not own any shares of Chonghaejin Marine Company and did not engage in its management.
Rebuttal statement
The EBC’s position is that the museums in the United States and Europe can never authorize an exhibition unless the artistic value of an artist’s works is recognized by the screening committee, irrespective of the amount of money an artist donates. The EBC’s position is that the exhibitions were not a result of Mr. Yoo’s patronage or donation, and Yoo also has not coerced Chonghaejin and its affiliates to purchase his photos.
The EBC states that Yoo did not participate in the foundation of the EBC in 1981, and the church does not offer him the title “pastor.” It also says a significant part of the 240 billion won ($206 million) worth of assets suspected of belonging to the Yoo family are real estate properties owned by the farming associations, which had been established by church members.
The EBC states that there are certain churches in Korea that call the EBC a cult, solely based on differences between their’s and the EBC’s doctrines.
But the EBC does not worship a particular individual as a religious sect leader or preach any doctrine that contradicts the Bible.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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