hankyoreh

By Kim Tae-gyu　
　　
The first criminal division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office announced Wednesday that it had arrested and indicted Pastor Kang Bo-young, 65, on fraud charges for misappropriating 2.38 billion won ($2.3M) received from 284 ministers and congregation members as investment for the establishment of a Christian social welfare bank modeled on the microlender Grameen Bank.
Kang’s effort to establish the bank drew criticisms in November 2010 over a lavish “founders‘ meeting” for which around 8 thousand people gathered at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul’s Central District and prayed for the successful holding of the G-20 Summit and the establishment of a financial company entitled “Korea Social Welfare Fund (KSWF)”.
At the time, Kang said he planned to establish a Christian bank as a primary financial institution with starting capital of 1.5 trillion won either by acquiring an existing bank or creating a new one.
Participating as VIP guests, conservative Protestant figures like Christian Council of Korea honorary Chairman Eom Shin-hyung and KoreaSuccess21 Seoul Council Chairman Jang Seok-gu said they would lend their support to the bank’s establishment.
Prior to the founders’ meeting, financial authorities cautioned that it was against the law to use the name of a bank or to gather investment funds for the purpose of establishing a bank, but the organizers ignored the warning.
According to the prosecutors’ investigation, Kang gave amounts ranging from 1 million to 100 million won to conservative Protestant figures as prize money, contributions, and traffic expenses in order to benefit from association with them.
Kang, who has a poor credit rating, was said to have come up with the idea for the fraud after being evicted in May for failure to pay rent for the New Hope Church, his church in Seoul’s Jamsil neighborhood.
　　
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