South Korean church’s ‘special force’ targets young Australians amid crackdown at home
The Shincheonji church compiles profiles of potential members to draw up personalised recruitment plans, according to a former member
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.
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Cassie (not her real name) said members were subjected to a rigorous enrolment campaign that left them exhausted and sleep-deprived.