On January 15, 2026, police arrested Park Tae-yeon, Khabarovsk, Russia on immigration related charges. She now faces a maximum of 17 years in prison on a total of three immigration-related charges. Although the charges are all immigration related, the motivation for her arrest appears to be related to her gospel work among children. The Russian authorities continue to investigate her with the possibility that more charges are introduced.
Since her arrest, the government has conducted a smear campaign against her and Child Evangelism Fellowship in the media. The Russian media reports claim that Korean missionaries brainwashed children, forcing them to copy the Bible for hours. A Khabarovsk city official cited in the reports claims that “ideas alien to Russian traditional values were imposed on children under the pretext of education and training” and that the ultimate goal was to take the children to Korea for final zombification.
Ms. Park Tae-yeon has been living with a sincere love for the country of Russia and its people since she arrived there in 1993. She has no prior criminal history. She has lived her whole life as a single person and has devoted herself to the locals for 33 years, to the point where she says she is married to Russia. She has practiced a life of caring for her neighbors, and her pure spirit of service has become an example for many people around her. Her plane ticket was already purchased to return from Khabarovsk to Korea to retire at the age of 70. She was arrested one week before her retirement.
* Please use the Russian phrases and Scripture as the government may not allow letters written in Korean.
