Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Protestant missionaries from South Korea have stepped up their activities in Central Asia lately, Aktam Zhalilov, an expert at the Regional Policies Fund in Uzbekistan, told
journalists on Wednesday.
"South Korean missionaries are working under the cover of various foreign language, computer training and health centers, where contacts with young people and socially vulnerable groups are easy," Zhalilov said.
Two representative offices of Korean nongovernmental organizations in Uzbekistan - the Institute of Asian Culture and Development and the World Korean Aide Fund - had their activities suspended for three months for popularizing the Protestant trend of the Evangelia sect, he said.
Zhalilov also said that the missionary activities of the unregistered religious organization Eldos, which was organized by South Korean Protestants, had been closed down in Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan.
"These facts suggest that missionary centers are engaged in systematic missionary work in the region. Therefore, the Central Asian states must form a database with all Organizations and foreign citizens whose illegal missionary activities have been exposed, said Zhalilov.