Last March, the Korean Christian community was caught in the heat of CBS Special Documentary called, “People Who Are Indulged in Shincheonji.” In addition to the dispute over the program’s biased report, the community is now faced with another storm of controversy as the former head counselor of the Cult Counseling Center of Ansan Evergreen Church, which was the location the documentary was filmed, exposed the story behind the scene.

Ms. Chang, the assistant pastor and the former head counselor of the Ansan Counseling Center of the Korean Christian Cult Counseling Committee, recently held a press conference and asserted that the financial management run by Pastor Yong Shik Jin--the head operation manager of Ansan Evergreen Church Cult Counseling Center for identifying heretical matters--was not transparent. She shed light on the problems in his character and his backroom alliance with the supporting media.

Assistant Pastor Chang was the head counselor at the time CBS first contacted Ansan Evergreen Church Cult Counseling Center to film “People Who Are Indulged in Shincheonji.” She opposed the idea of producing the CBS documentary, concerned that the coercive method of conversion education may cause social problems. She was also convinced that the use of hidden cameras was inappropriate, a violation of personal rights. In response to her opposition, Pastor Jin, the head operator of the cult counseling center, fired Assistant Pastor Chang against her will and announced that she is a supporter of Shincheonji.

Assistant Pastor Chang stated that CBS received 4 billion Korean Won in funds to produce “People Who Are Indulged in Shincheonji,” and that she obtained this information from the producer. Such funds were appropriated from various sponsoring churches. It is also revealed that CBS established for itself a new HD broadcasting system with this fund.

Regarding the disputed coercive conversion education sessions, Assistant Pastor Chang confessed that there were obvious cases of coercion, such as families placing handcuffs on the victims. Some families hired the labor services to drag the victims to the counseling centers. When asked whether those who did not comply with the counseling sessions were taken to mental institutions, she said that none of the victims were taken to the mental institutions directly by the counseling center staff. She did hear, however, of the counseling center referring mental institutions to the victims’ families.

She also revealed that the counseling center received fifty thousand Korean Won per victim per session with an yearly income of about forty million Korean Won, indicating that the intention behind the conversion education was for business profit more so than for religious purposes.

She also exposed the dishonest financial managements of the counseling center stating Pastor Jin requested financial support from sponsoring churches by falsely stating the yearly court fees were one hundred million Korean Won, which was actually the accumulated amount of court fees over the past several years.

Assistant Pastor Chang concluded this press conference with such confession and urged the various religious leaders and those involved in joint denominations and the Chongshin University to accomplish the following:

▲ Establishing monitoring institutions for cult counselors for each denomination ▲ Revealing the truth regarding Pastor Jin’s false academic career ▲ Establishing a trans-denominational institution that will arbitrate determining or un-labeling “heretics” ▲ Stopping the media from unreasonably supporting cult counselors ▲ Establishing an institution to report corrupt pastors for the purpose of renewing the Korean Christian community, and among others.

On the other hand, Pastor Jin refuted the charges brought forth by Assistant Pastor Chang, claiming that her confessions were all “false.”