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March 1, 2013

Founder of World's Largest Church Could Face Indictment for Alleged Stock Scheme

Yoido Full Gospel Church's David Yonggi Cho is accused of $9 million stock loss and $5.5 million in tax evasion.

Melissa Steffan

The founding pastor of the world's largest Pentecostal congregation could be indicted on charges of breach of trust for costing the church more than $9 million in a stock scheme gone awry.

South Korean news sources report that prosecutors are investigation David Yonggi Cho, founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church which has more than 1 million congregants, for a stock scheme in which he arranged for the church to buy his son Cho Hee-jun’s stock "at a rate three to four times higher than market value." Prosecutors also found evidence that Cho has accrued $5.5 million in tax debt.

Cho first came under investigation in 2011, when church elders accused him of embezzling $20 million. Cho also has been criticized for privatizing church assets.

The subject of church taxation has been a sticky one for Cho, leading to the current investigation against him. In December 2012, South Korean prosecutors booked his son Cho Hee-jun without detention and "identified David Cho as an accomplice to the crime of breach of trust."

CT previously noted in 2006 that Yoido Full Gospel had selected Lee Young-hoon to replace Cho as head pastor.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Cho to correct errors regarding the state of the investigation. We apologize for the errors.

posted by Melissa Steffan | Comments (3)

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Proof your story again please. The stocks were sold for 3 times more than their value, not less. Also the 5.5 billion is reportedly in won, so the actual figure of US dollars is in the millions. The substance is the same, but some details have been lost in translation.

Posted By: John Hamilton | March 1, 2013 12:34 PM

Here's what they say in So Korea.....Prosecutors say David Cho has submitted documents about previous tax cases that show that such stock transactions are not subject to taxation, so they are reviewing

Cho's son is on the hot seat and the 77 year old Cho apparently did not know what was going on based on e-mails obtained from prosecutors.

Posted By: tiger sampson | March 3, 2013 9:43 PM

how simple a command was given by Christ :"take neither scrip nor purse and go spread the Gospel" . We now delve into land and money and it always seems to result in the same fiasco no matter it be Benny Hinn, modern day prophets with lear jets, palaces for homes etc. "He that saith he abideth in Him let him also so to walk even as He walked:" Quite simple. Thank God for the widows mite. Jack

Posted By: Jack Heppell | May 20, 2013 8:59 PM

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