Senior pastor at major church investigated for financial misdeeds
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/575967.html
Posted on : Feb.28,2013 15:05 KST Modified on : Mar.6,2013 15:26
KST
Prosecutors to indict David Yonggi Cho of Yoido Full Gospel Church on charges of breach of trust
By Kim Tae-kyu and Lee Kyung-mi, staff reporters
Prosecutors suspect David Yonggi Cho, 77, senior pastor at Yoido Full
Gospel Church,
of breach of trust resulting in 10 billion won (US$9.2 million) in losses to
his church. They are also investigating him on suspicion of 6 billion won
(US$5.52 million) in tax evasion, the Hankyoreh confirmed on Feb. 27.
Prosecutors, who have already taken into custody Cho’s son Hee-jun, 48, the
secretary general of the Yeongsan
Christian Cultural
Center, are planning on
indicting David Cho soon.
Yoido
Full Gospel
Church has around one
million members and is the biggest Pentecostal Christian congregation in the
world. It was founded in 1958 by Cho and his mother Choi Ja-shil, who are both
Assemblies of God pastors.
In Dec. 2012, investigators from the Seoul Central District
Prosecutors’ Office, led by Lee Hyeon-sang, booked Cho Hee-jun without
detention on charges of breach of trust according to the Act on the Aggravated
Punishment for Specific Economic Crimes. He is accused of causing 15.74 billion
won (US$14.49 million) of damages to the church. Allegedly, on Dec. 6, 2002,
while serving as chairman of Next Media Group, he sold the church 250,000
shares of stock in I-Service at 86,984 won (US$80.06) per share, much more
expensive than the market price of 24,032 won (US$22.12) per share.
According to Cho Hee-jun’s arraignment document, which was
acquired by the Hankyoreh, prosecutors identified David Cho as an accomplice to
the crime of breach of trust. On Nov. 28, 2002, David Cho received a report
from a general manager at Yoido Full Gospel Church surnamed Kim that said, “If
the elders and believers find out that the church is purchasing I-Service stock
at the high price of 86,984 won per share, stock which the church has
absolutely no need for, there could be a huge uproar.” Nevertheless, the pastor
said, “We have no choice, since Hee-jun is in a difficult situation right now,”
directing that the matter be dealt with as quietly as possible to avoid causing
any trouble in the church. In other words, David Cho was receiving reports
about and giving orders concerning the purchase of the stock that resulted in a
loss for the church.
During the investigation, prosecutors also acquired evidence
of tax evasion by David Cho. In 2004, when the Seoul regional tax office judged
that this stock sale was a gift and ordered that 10.3 billion won (US$9.48
million) of taxes be paid, David Cho enlisted the aid of an accountant and
submitted falsified documents to the tax office to disguise the transaction as
a normal stock trade, not as a gift, prosecutors confirmed. He is suspected of
using this means to only pay 4 billion won (US$3.68 million) in taxes, evading
6 billion won.
