On November 19, 2019, Korean Christian Jonwook Kim was stabbed on the street in the city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey. The town is not far from the area where Danish Euroapmissions donors have just secured the opening of a Christian radio station.
He subsequently died of his injuries in hospital at the age of 41. The Turkish murder investigation authority has since arrested a 16-year-old suspect and the investigation is ongoing. This is according to International Christian Concern, and the story has been confirmed by one of Danish Christian Concern's contacts with in-depth knowledge of Turkey.
Kim came to Diyarbakir with his family three years ago and served a small Christian congregation. The killer stabbed Kim three times: twice in the heart and once in the back. Officials claim the attack happened in an attempt to steal Kim's phone. Local Christians have asked authorities to investigate it as a murder for hire and not as an extortion attempt. Kim was married and had one child, and his second child is expected to be born in the next few days. The funeral will be held tomorrow. He had lived in Turkey for five years.
Kim is the first Christian to be murdered in Turkey since the Zirve publishing house murders in 2007, when three Christians were martyred in Malatya. Christians in Turkey have reported an increase in harassment, threats and other non-violent incidents over the past three years.
"This is the first martyr since Malatya. The Turkish government has launched a massive deportation campaign against Protestant leaders who have served in Turkey for many years," said a church leader. "But deportation is not enough for evangelicals. This kind of attack will intimidate them. I think this is the final step in a plan to be like China."
"It wasn't just a robbery. They came to kill him," adds a Turkish evangelist who received a death threat the day after the murder. "We get threats all the time. A brother prophesied a few days ago that they (the government) will kick out these foreigners and probably kill a few Turkish brothers. They will create chaos. They know I'm trying to spread the gospel, so they might come after me too. This could be a sign."
