[Below is a conversation between a former high-ranking member of the Church of God (Ahn Sahng-hong Witnesses), known by the pseudonym 'Observer,' and Pastor Woo Won-gwang, who was once a favored follower of Ahn Sahng-hong. This dialogue sheds light on the actions of Jang Gil-ja and Kim Joo-cheol after Ahn Sahng-hong suffered a stroke.]

Observer: What happened that day? You mentioned that people from Seoul arrived at Maryknoll Hospital on the evening of February 24, 1985.

W: The elders from Busan were caught off guard by the sudden incident and were in disarray. By evening, the teacher (Ahn Sahng-hong) was still receiving emergency treatment at the hospital. Later that evening, I saw Joo-cheol and Evangelist Jang Gil-ja arrive at the hospital. When they asked me what to do, I told them to meet with the doctor.

Observer: So he was still alive at that time?

W: Yes, but he had been unconscious and unable to speak since collapsing earlier in the day. The doctor said there was no hope. After hearing this, Evangelist Jang Gil-ja called Joo-cheol over, and I overheard them having a conversation in the hospital hallway. They were discussing what to do after hearing the doctor’s prognosis.

Observer: What were they talking about?

W: I happened to be in the hallway and overheard their conversation. They were panicking, saying this was a huge problem. They had been teaching the congregation that they would ascend to heaven with the teacher in 1988 when the end of the world was supposed to occur. They were worried that the teacher couldn’t die so suddenly. Jang Gil-ja instructed Joo-cheol to quickly return to Seoul and calm the congregation. Joo-cheol left for Seoul that same night and didn’t return to Busan until after the funeral.

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W: Later, I heard that in Seoul, they had been heavily emphasizing the idea of the end times. It seems they were teaching things differently there. That day, Joo-cheol was urgently sent back to Seoul because they believed the teacher’s sudden passing would cause significant issues for the church. If they didn’t take steps to address the congregation, the church could face major problems.

Observer: I heard directly from Kim Joo-cheol that the teacher gave him ceremonial robes and instructed him to take care of Evangelist Jang Gil-ja as “Mother” before leaving for Busan. Joo-cheol claimed he initially didn’t understand the meaning of these instructions but later realized they were in preparation for the teacher’s departure. Jang Gil-ja allegedly knew about the teacher’s passing in advance but didn’t tell Joo-cheol because it was a secret. This, according to him, happened shortly before the teacher’s death.

W: Does that make sense? On February 24, I personally witnessed Jang Gil-ja in Busan panicking, saying it would be disastrous if the teacher passed away. If the teacher had truly given them his final instructions or secretly informed Jang Gil-ja, Kim Joo-cheol wouldn’t have been preaching about ascending with the teacher during the 1988 apocalypse. And Jang Gil-ja certainly wouldn’t have allowed Joo-cheol to continue spreading such messages if that were the case.

Observer: True. If Jang Gil-ja was deeply distressed and sent Joo-cheol back to Seoul in such a panic, her later claims don’t add up. She cleverly fabricated lies, saying she went to Seoul to retrieve a photograph as proof that the teacher entrusted the church to her. But it seems the real reason was to calm the congregation and cover up the situation.

W: If all she needed was a photograph, she would have returned to Busan the next day. But she didn’t come back until after the funeral. That alone proves her story was a lie.

Source: Naver Blog