"As the social harm caused by anti-social religious corporations has grown severe, stern punishment is necessary, but the process must not shake the constitutional foundations of the separation of church and state and religious freedom."
Seo Heon-je, honorary professor at Chung-Ang University and president of the Korean Church Law Society, made the remarks at an academic seminar held Wednesday at the Korean Christian Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, under the theme "Dissolution of Anti-Social Religious Groups and Separation of Church and State."
Recently, a special counsel investigation into corruption involving collusion between politics and religion tied to the Unification Church and Shincheonji prompted the government to express its resolve for strict law enforcement. This led to the introduction of the so-called "Anti-Political-Religious Collusion Bill (partial amendment to the Civil Code)" in the National Assembly. The amendment includes provisions to revoke the establishment permits of religious corporations that violate the separation of church and state and to transfer the assets of dissolved corporations to the state treasury. In response, the Council of Korean Churches and the broader religious community have voiced concerns about legal overreach, criticizing the bill as a "religious dissolution law" and "anti-democratic legislation." The seminar was organized to explore practical legal alternatives that can eradicate the harm of anti-social religious groups without infringing on religious freedom.
In his keynote address, honorary professor Seo said, "If legislation is needed to prevent the harm of anti-social religious corporations, it is desirable to approach this through enacting a special law rather than amending the Civil Code, which is a foundational statute." He added, "If a special law is enacted, the corporations subject to the law must be clearly delineated so that it does not adversely affect mainstream religions." He also said, "The use of broad and vague concepts such as 'separation of church and state' as criteria for dissolving corporations should be avoided to dispel concerns about religious oppression." He emphasized that "decisions to dissolve religious corporations should be entrusted to the courts, not administrative authorities, and must be subject to judicial oversight."
