A Korean Muslim YouTuber’s plan to build a mosque in the western port city of Incheon has been stopped in its tracks as a land purchase contract he signed has been canceled upon the request of the landowner amid a backlash from local residents.
According to real estate industry officials, Sunday, YouTuber Daud Kim, or Kim Jae-han, agreed with the property owner the previous day to cancel the contract, signed on April 11.
The property owner asked for the contract cancelation, citing that he did not know about Kim’s plan to build a mosque, according to local media reports.
Kim, who garnered over 5.52 million YouTube subscribers and 3.5 million Instagram followers from posts about living as a Korean Muslim, purchased 284.4 square meters of land on Incheon’s Yeongjong Island for 189.2 million won ($136,500). On April 13, he said in YouTube and Instagram posts that he paid a deposit of 20 million won in advance and was to pay the remainder next month.
“Finally with your help, I have signed a contract for land to build Masjid in Incheon. I can’t believe this day has come. I plan to build a prayer place and Islamic podcast studio for D’awah to Koreans,” he said.
Kim also shared his bank information online, asking for donations from subscribers.
However, Kim’s plan immediately triggered objections within the local community, which protested the construction of the religious facility on land that is near schools and residential areas.
The backlash against Kim grew as local news media reports resurfaced a sex crime he committed in 2019. Kim was referred to the prosecution for attempting to rape a foreign woman.
As the TikTok video by the victim publicizing the attempted rape went viral and drew attention to Kim in 2020, he, at the time, explained that the prosecutors closed the case with a suspension of indictment as he apologized to the victim, and the victim did not want him to be punished.
Meanwhile, the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF), the only Islamic organization officially registered with the Korean government, confirmed last week that Kim’s plan to build a mosque is an unregistered personal project.
“All Masjids across the country associated with the Korea Muslim Federation are registered under the name of the KMF, and nobody is allowed to register in the name of an individual or raise funds for the construction of the Masjid,” the group said in the announcement.
KMF stated that the fundraising for the construction of Masjid by Daud Kim, for which it has recently received numerous inquiries from various Islamic organizations and individuals both here and abroad, has no relation with the KMF and is a personal fundraising activity by Kim.
There are 19 masjids, or places of worship, in Korea, with some 35,000 Korean Muslims and 150,000 Muslims of foreign nationalities here, according to KMF.
