Yoido Full Gospel Church founder being sued for W3 bln

The Rev. David Cho Yong-gi, the founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, which has one of the largest congregations in the world, is being sued for 3 billion won (2.59 million U.S. dollars) for allegedly selling a church without the owner`s permission.

According to judicial sources Monday, the Rev. Park Su-chul, an ordained minister of the church in Seoul`s northern Dobong district and Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, submitted a petition to the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday saying "Cho and his nephew, also a pastor, sold a church I own in New York without my permission. I demand that they pay 3 billion won in compensation."

"I built the church in 1984 and made significant contributions in fostering it, but accepted Cho`s offer to return after retiring as pastor in Korea. After my retirement in February last year, I went back to the U.S. to find that the church was sold."

Park added, "I found out that Cho made his nephew an ordained minister of the (U.S.) church and that his nephew sold the church in 2010 and shut it down. Both people must compensate for the losses and return ill-gotten profits."

sunggyu@donga.com