The Words of the Elder Family

False Theory that Unification Church Will Rescue Chongryeon

Tim Elder
November 20, 2012

A press report in Japan that the Unification Church may come to the rescue of a financially troubled organization with close ties to North Korea has sparked a letter of protest from the Japan Unification Church.

The church sent the letter to the publishers of the weekly magazine "AERA" to protest a report that the Unification Church may participate in a court-ordered auction of a building in central Tokyo housing the headquarters of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryeon. The letter was published on the church's official website.

In an article titled, "Soren wo Toitsu Kyokai ga Kyusai Setu (Theory that Unification Church Will Rescue Chongryeon)" published in its Nov. 19 issue, AERA reported that the Unification Church might be among the bidders when Chongryeon's headquarters building is put up for auction by Tokyo District Court on a date yet to be determined. The auction is taking place, the report said, as a part of the Japanese government's effort to recover some 62.7 billion yen that Japan says is owed to it by Chongryeon. The building is expected to be sold at the auction for a price between 4.5 billion and 5 billion yen, the AERA report said.

AERA quoted a source as saying the Unification Church may participate in the auction "not using a name that could immediately be identified as related to the church but by using investment companies in Hong Kong and various dummies".

If the Unification Church successfully purchases the building it may allow Chongryeon to continue using it as its headquarters, the AERA report said.

The letter from the Japan Unification Church dated Nov. 16 said the church had no plans to purchase the building and demanded an apology and a correction.

"We gave you a clear response [prior to publication] that no such facts involving a 'rescue' existed either in Japan or Korea," the church said in its letter. "Yet you intentionally fabricated this story with no foundation."

The letter said the report defamed the church and demanded a quick response by AERA.

www.ucjp.org/?p=14023


Note: What is Chongryeon?

Chongryeon is the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Ch'ongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon (Korean: 총련, Hanja: 總聯) or Chōsen Sōren (Japanese: 朝鮮総連), is one of two main organizations for Zainichi (or Jaeil) Koreans (long term Korean residents in Japan), and has close ties to North Korea (DPRK). As there are no diplomatic relations between the two states, it has functioned as North Korea's de facto embassy in Japan. 

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