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SCMP’s Asia desk

A controversial church facing possible disbandment over religious-political collusion in South Korea is aggressively expanding its presence across Australia by targeting young people at universities and shopping centres, according to a former member who has accused the group of weaponising fear to shield it from criticism.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus, founded in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who claims to be the second coming of Jesus Christ, has an estimated 200,000 followers in the East Asian nation.
According to Shincheonji’s website, the fringe Christian organisation has branches in more than 100 countries – including Australia, where it is deploying “special force teams” to boost recruitment.
While the church was already established in Melbourne, it has compiled extensive profiles of potential members in regional towns of Victoria and the Northern Territory, public broadcaster ABC reported.
Citing documents and a member who walked away from Shincheonji four months ago after being in the church for nearly three years, ABC said hobbies, life goals and personality traits were some of the features the church considered when drawing up a tailor-made plan for picking prospective disciples.


Cassie (not her real name) said members were subjected to a rigorous enrolment campaign that left them exhausted and sleep-deprived.
“[We would be] recruiting from early morning until late at night,” she said. “From the moment I would get on a train, I would fall asleep straight away … because I was so tired all the time.”
Cassie was introduced to Shincheonji by two members who asked her to join Bible study sessions.
She did not know about the church’s reputation as online searches were discouraged and deemed “spiritual suicide” in an attempt to prevent members from leaving.
“They find different ways to justify why looking or searching on the internet about criticism of Shincheonji is bad for your spirit,” Cassie said, adding that she quit the group after understanding the “flaws in the Shincheonji doctrine”.
In 2019, South Korean pastor Jo Mit-eum, who founded a firm to help educate people about such cult organisations, told This Week in Asia that Shincheonji “preaches to divorce from one’s spouse and other groups strongly advise people to quit their studies and jobs”.
Cassie said some members have dropped out of university to concentrate on special force teams working to widen Shincheonji’s base in Australia. This has prompted warnings from schools like Federation University and RMIT about the church’s “disingenuous and harmful” recruitment methods.

“A lot of these people have given up a lot for this church, so it is tough for them to let it go because their whole life is centred around the work,” she said.
Cassie’s revelation comes as a Victorian parliamentary panel is investigating coercive high-control groups such as Shincheonji based on nearly 300 submissions from ex-members and the families of current followers describing financial exploitation, job losses and fatigue.
According to a submission, the parents of a woman who joined Shincheonji Melbourne in 2021 said their daughter was an “entirely different person now”.
“She was once thriving, joyful and independent,” they said. “Now, she is financially dependent, socially isolated and deeply anxious. We fear for her life.”
Shincheonji intensified its overseas recruitment drive after an outbreak of coronavirus at a branch in South Korea’s Daegu triggered an exodus of members during the early days of the pandemic in 2020.
Last week, Seoul formed a task force to investigate Shincheonji and the Unification Church over alleged collusion between the groups and politicians, The Korea Times newspaper reported.
The outcome of the inquiry could result in their dissolution, with President Lee Jae Myung saying the “harm inflicted by such organisations on our society has been left unattended for far too long and has become severe”.
South Korea, where some 2 million Christians are involved with fringe churches, has in the past cracked down on cult groups.
In 2001, a religious establishment linked to a couple lost its corporate registration after it defrauded about 1,500 people.


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The Shincheonji church compiles profiles of potential members to draw up personalised recruitment plans, according to a former member


The Shincheonji church compiles profiles of potential members to draw up personalised recruitment plans, according to a former member.


South Korean church’s ‘special force’ targets young Australians amid crackdown at home

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Shincheonji church compiles profiles of potential members to draw up personalised recruitment plans, according to a former member

The Shincheonji church compiles profiles of potential members to draw up personalised recruitment plans, according to a former member